Only two aquaculture feed lines are currently commercially manufactured within Kenya; a Tilapia pellet produced by Unga Feeds Ltd in Nakuru and a rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) pellet produced by Tamfeeds Ltd in Nairobi. The Tilapia pellet is produced exclusively for the Baobab Tilapia Farm in Mombasa and is formulated to contain 25% crude protein and 5% lipid. Manufactured as a dry 3mm pellet using a commercial steam pelleter (capacity 4 tonnes/hour) and indoor pellet drier, the pellet is composed of a mixture of local and imported feed ingredients, including wheat middlings, meat and bone meal, fishmeal, soybean meal and a vitamin premix. Approximately 42 tonnes of Tilapia pellets were produced by Unga Feeds Ltd during 1990 (7 tonnes/2 months); ex-factory price of Ksh 228/50kg bag (Ksh 4.56/kg). By contrast, a trout starter crumble and grower pellet is manufactured by Tamfeeds Ltd for use on its own trout farms and for sale to the other trout farmers in Kenya. Produced as a moist pellet using a simple motorized meat extruder and then dried outdoors under the sun, the pellet is composed of local feed ingredients (fishmeal, fish silage, brewers yeast, wheat pollard, wheat bran) and an in-house prepared trout micro-nutrient premix composed of imported individual vitamins and minerals. Approximately 60 tonnes of dry trout feed was produced by Tamfeeds Ltd. during 1990 (5 tonnes/month); ex-factory price of grower diet (38% crude protein and 9% lipid) and starter diet (50% crude protein and 12% lipid) being Ksh 10.15/kg and Ksh 16.50/kg, respectively.
It is estimated that the total production of aquaculture feeds in Kenya during 1990 was approximately 100 tonnes, compared with a total of about 275,000 tonnes for commercial farm animal feeds; 60% poultry, 25% pig, 10% cattle and 5% others (ie. dogs, horse, rabbits).
