De Heus Strategy Drives Efficiency in Animal Feed Industry

De Heus’s investment value in Indonesia ranks as the third largest of all the company’s global investments.

Efficiency remains a key challenge for the animal feed industry. Through an acquisition strategy, animal nutrition company De Heus has reaffirmed its sustained commitment to driving efficiency and empowering livestock farmers and aquaculture producers. Present in Indonesia since 2018, the company, which operates in 24 countries globally, now has 11 feed mills in the country and partners with more than 1,000 farmers.

At the global level, De Heus Animal Nutrition has completed the acquisition of CJ Feed & Care from CJ Cheil Jedang. This acquisition strengthens De Heus’s position in rapidly developing markets such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and Cambodia, whilst providing direct access to South Korea and the Philippines. Overall, the transaction encompasses 17 feed mills and livestock operations spread across the Asia region.

In animal nutrition, De Heus ranks as the world’s fifth largest feed company. “The experience De Heus has gained in various countries worldwide is what we bring to Indonesia,” said Kay De Vreese, President Director of De Heus Indonesia, during an interview at the company’s Jakarta office on Wednesday, 4 March 2026.

Kay added that the CJ Feed & Care acquisition further strengthens De Heus’s long-term commitment to developing the animal nutrition sector and livestock value chain in Indonesia. The company grows alongside farmers through integrated nutrition solutions, technical support, and collaboration throughout the value chain to support food security whilst supporting, not competing with, independent farmers and partnering with small and medium enterprises and local breeding farmers.

“We have direct guidance from the De Heus family that we cannot compete with grassroots farmers in any country. De Heus’s business model is unique because it does not compete with farmers at the grassroots level. In every country, the government also assists De Heus because we do not compete with farmers,” said Kay.

In Indonesia, De Heus feed products are marketed from Banda Aceh to Papua. With the CJ Feed & Care acquisition, De Heus has increased its total number of mills to 11 in Indonesia, with the addition of two mills in Sumatra—in Medan and Lampung—and other facilities in Kalimantan. According to Kay, the timing of the CJ Feed & Care acquisition is particularly important in relation to the government’s free nutritious meal programme (MBG).

Furthermore, the CJ Feed & Care mills acquired also include a chicken hatchery producing day-old chicks (DOC). De Heus selectively invests in breeding units to ensure independent farmers have reliable access to high-quality genetics.

“We hope to support the government’s free nutritious meal programme. Positive experience from other countries can be developed in Indonesia,” said Kay.

In Indonesia, with the existing CJ Feed & Care business foundation, De Heus is determined to further strengthen access to superior genetics and breeding support to empower farmers and increase sustainable production outcomes.

“This acquisition is an important milestone in our long-term strategy to strengthen De Heus’s presence in Asia,” said Gabor Fluit, CEO of De Heus Animal Nutrition, in a written statement.

By combining CJ Feed & Care’s technical expertise and customer relationships with De Heus’s more than a century of experience in animal nutrition and livestock management, the acquisition is expected to accelerate growth and deliver higher value to farmers.

“Together, we are building a future where farmers and their communities can grow and contribute to a sustainable and resilient animal protein sector,” said Gabor.

In Indonesia, Kay observed that efficiency remains a central issue in the animal feed industry. The number of feed mills is very large, but capacity utilisation rates stand at only 50 per cent. Consequently, the capacity used is only half of the maximum available capacity, resulting in inefficiency.

“De Heus’s strategy for Indonesia is therefore to acquire rather than build new mills. Building a new factory would indeed add capacity, but efficiency for Indonesia in the feed mill business would decline further. So De Heus has an acquisition strategy,” said Kay.

Recognising Indonesia’s considerable potential, De Heus began exploring the Indonesian market in 2016. However, the company officially commenced operations in Indonesia in 2018. Mita Agustina, Branding and Marketing Communication Manager of De Heus Indonesia, added that De Heus conducted its first acquisition in Indonesia in late 2018 by acquiring UAB (Universal Agri Bisnisindo).

Subsequently, in June 2020, De Heus completed its feed operations by acquiring Neovia Indonesia (PT Welgro Feedmill and PT Wirifa Sakti) from Archer Daniels Midland (ADM). “It was not ADM itself that we acquired. We took ADM’s mills. ADM still operates to this day,” said Mita.

According to Kay, Indonesia is a large country with a population of nearly 300 million. However, protein consumption among Indonesians remains very low. De Heus works to achieve the highest possible conversion of feed into animal protein by optimising business outcomes for De Heus customers, which consist of meat, dairy, egg, and fish producers.

As Indonesia’s population continues to grow, the potential demand for protein consumption is expected to rise further. Although no specific figure was disclosed, De Heus confirmed that its investment value in Indonesia ranks as the third largest among all of De Heus’s global investments. Eighty per cent of the raw materials for feed produced by De Heus in Indonesia come from local markets.

Beyond providing high-quality feed products, De Heus also provides services and knowledge on animal nutrition, livestock farming, and animal science, enabling efficiency improvements and technological advancement. De Heus continues to strengthen its presence in the region.