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Data received from EFPRA’s 30 members across 25 European countries showed year-on-year increases in categories 1, 2 and 3 raw material availability, which resulted in higher production of animal by-products (ABP), with increases in local consumption across different industries as well as exports.
The congress, held May 27-30, heard that volumes included 3.9 million tonnes of category 1 raw material (up by 21% year on year) and 1 million tonnes of category 2 raw material (up by 42% year on year), with the remaining 13.4 million tonnes of raw material being category 3.
A total of 255 processing plants with 463 different lines produced 2.8 million tonnes of animal fats of all categories during the year, a 3.7% year-on-year increase, while output of processed animal proteins (PAPs) increased by more than 10% to nearly 4.1 million tonnes from 3.7 million tonnes.
In terms of local consumption in Europe, increases in categories 1 and 2 ABP consumption were mainly seen in the biofuels industry, fertilizer production and combustion.
A total of 989,000 tonnes of categories 1 and 2 PAPs were disposed in combustion, up by 31.5% year on year, while use in the fertilizer industry jumped by 56% from 2024 to 245,000 tonnes.
Meat and bone meal (MBM) of category 2 use for feed more than doubled in 2025, with a total of 10,000 tonnes of the material reported consumed.
In the meantime, some category 3 fat was used in the oleochemical industry in 2025, with 9,000 tonnes reported, no volumes were reported for 2024.
According to Dobbelaere, 490,000 tonnes of fat went into biofuel production, up by 25% from 2024, while 28,000 tonnes were burnt in combustion, a 55% year-on-year increase.
Alongside categories 1 and 2, a total of 1.09 million tonnes of category 3 animal fat were used to produce biofuels, a 3.8% year-on-year increase from 1.05 million tonnes consumed in 2024.
Animal fat use in the biofuel industry totalled 1,58 million tonnes in 2025, up by 8.9% from 1.45 million tonnes reported for 2024.
“The curve is getting a bit flatter, so this increase compared with previous years is lower, but it is still an increase,” Dobbelaere said during his presentation.
A slight year-on-year production increase to 2.3 million tonnes was reported for category 3 animal fat, with use distributed between biofuel, animal feed, pet food and the oleochemical industries, and with some volumes still burnt.
Category 3 PAP production volumes were up by 5.8% in 2025 to 2.9 million tonnes, with 40% of the volume accounting for multispecies products, followed by poultry meal (25%) and pig meal (14%).
Around 75% of the volume, 2.3 million tonnes, went into pet food production, up by 11% compared with 2024, while it was also a 16% increase over the course of 10 years.
PAPs use in aqua feed production increased by 17.5% year on year to 348,000 tonnes, with poultry meal remaining the main product, while blood meal use increased by 79% year-on-year to just over 25,000 tonnes.
In the meantime, feather meal consumption for aqua feed dropped by 19% compared with 2024 figures to around 70,000 tonnes, the data showed.
In terms of PAP used in the fertilizer industry, 2025 volumes totalled 433,000 tonnes, up by 26.2% year on year, with increases in the category 2 product share, up by 15% compared with 2024.
PAPs exports to third countries decreased by 1% to 29% in 2025, Dobbelaere said, driven by drops in pig meal, mixed PAP, feather meal and blood meal.
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