Philippines Tilapia Feed Mill Cuts Pellet Fines by Half with Hongyang Ring Die Pellet Mill

The Philippines produced 309,195 metric tons of farmed tilapia in 2024, making it one of the world’s largest tilapia aquaculture producers. With feed costs representing approximately 70% of total aquaculture production expenses (IMARC Group, 2025), Philippine feed millers are under constant pressure to improve pellet quality while containing operational costs.

This case examines a commercial tilapia feed operation in Batangas Province, Luzon, that upgraded from a belt-driven pellet mill to a Hongyang SZLH420 ring die pellet mill in early 2026. The mill produces floating tilapia feed across multiple protein grades (28%–32% crude protein), serving pond and cage farmers within a 150-kilometer radius.

Metric	Before Upgrade	After Upgrade (4-month avg.)
Throughput (28% CP floating feed)	6.8 t/h	8.9 t/h
Pellet fines (<2 mm)	8.2%	3.5%
Specific energy consumption	37.2 kWh/t	30.1 kWh/t
Ring die service life	580–620 hours	780+ hours
Monthly unscheduled downtime	18.5 hours	4.2 hours

The Mill and Its Challenge

The Batangas facility operates a single pelleting line producing approximately 18,000 metric tons of tilapia feed annually. Prior to the upgrade, the mill relied on a belt-driven ring die pellet press that had been in service for over seven years. Throughput on standard 28% crude protein floating formulations averaged 6.8 tons per hour — below the machine’s original rated capacity, and declining as belt tension losses accumulated with age.

Pellet fines were measured at 8.2% by weight on post-cooler samples, using a 2 mm sieve per standard aquafeed protocols. In practice, this meant that for every 100 metric tons of feed bagged, roughly 8 tons were returned as fines during screening and either reprocessed or sold off at a discount. Reprocessing added approximately PHP 180–220 per ton in labor, energy, and handling costs.

In January 2026, the mill installed a Hongyang SZLH420 ring die pellet mill, rated at 10–12 tons per hour. The installation focused on three criteria: energy efficiency, pellet durability, and total cost of ownership.

Four-Month Performance Data

Throughput stabilized at 8.9 tons per hour. Pellet fines dropped from 8.2% to 3.5%, saving approximately 850 metric tons of material from reprocessing annually. Specific energy consumption fell to 30.1 kWh/t, representing roughly PHP 1.09 million (USD 19,500) in annual energy savings.

Why It Matters for Philippine Aquafeed

The Philippine tilapia feed market is highly price-sensitive. Farmers operating on thin margins scrutinize feed conversion ratios closely, and pellet quality — specifically, the proportion of intact pellets reaching the pond versus disintegrating during transport — directly influences their purchasing decisions.

A feed mill that can reliably deliver pellets with sub-4% fines gains a meaningful competitive advantage in farmer loyalty. As one feed sales manager in Batangas noted, “Farmers don’t run lab tests. They open the bag, look at the bottom for powder, and decide whether to order again next month.”

Conclusion

The Batangas mill’s experience with the Hongyang SZLH420 demonstrates that a properly specified ring die pellet mill can achieve simultaneous improvements in throughput, pellet quality, and energy efficiency.

For feed millers across Southeast Asia’s expanding aquaculture markets, these numbers translate to lower production costs, stronger farmer relationships, and a capital investment that pays back in operational savings within the first year.

Sources: IMARC Group, “Philippines Aquafeed Market Size, Share, Trends and Forecast 2026–2034″; Statista, “Tilapia Aquaculture Production Volume Philippines 2017–2024″; Philippine Statistics Authority, “Fisheries Production 2024″; Context.ph, “Chicken, Tilapia Output Rise in 1Q 2025″; BFAR National Aquaculture Development and Management Plan 2025–2030; CS Keliji, “Pellet Machine for Aquaculture Fish Feed Technical Specifications”; Feedsoft, “State of the Feed Industry 2026.”