Oats are made of protein, minerals, vitamins, dietary fiber, and carbohydrates. They are also high in antioxidants, which assist in protecting the body from chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. The increasing awareness of the numerous benefits of consuming oats is prompting manufacturers to incorporate oats into various uses, including food & beverages, animal feed, cosmetics, and others. Moreover, compared to other cereals, oats have a balanced amino acid composition and a higher concentration of crucial amino acids, such as lysine, making it livestock farmers’ most preferred feed ingredient. Oats can be fed to ruminants and monogastric animals, both. Pets, such as cats and dogs, also digest oats easily, hence, it can be used as cereal ingredients in animal diets as well. The fat level of oats improves the energy content, which is essential in horse feed. Oats in pet food help in reducing allergies and gut discomfort. Oatmeal improves fur shine, reduces diarrhea, and is ideal solution for gluten absorption issues. It aids in milk production because of its high-fat content and nutritional value. Due to all these factors, the demand for oats in the cattle feed business is increasing. Reduced methane emissions are another advantage of feeding naked oats and naked/low lignin husked oat mix to animals. Oats are increasingly being used as a replacement for high-energy cereals, such as barley and corn, which has established the animal feed industry as a key end user. Oats can also be found in a wide range of food & beverages, including extruded breakfast cereals and snacks, instant powders, dry soups and sauces, ready-to-drink beverages, bread, cakes, crispbread, biscuits, desserts, ice cream, pasta/noodles, health and medical food products, and sports bars/food/powder/drinks, for nutritional and functional purposes. It has a high concentration of total proteins, carbs (starch), crude fat, dietary fiber (nonstarch), a unique antioxidant, and vitamins and minerals. Such wide application scope of oats is the main factor, driving the oats market’s growth.
WIDE SCOPE OF APPLICATION INFLUENCE THE OATS MARKET GLOBALLY
Europe is the major market for the oats industry due to the growth of the food & beverage and animal feed industries, along with health benefits associated with oats. Further, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, in Europe, oats are utilized as a grain in fodder production. Oats are the favored companion crop for peas and vetch due to their coarse stems. Oats are most essential in cold, northern countries. These maintain their importance as winter fodder in Mediterranean climates, where they may first be grazed and then grown on for grain. Furthermore, the strong domestic presence of manufacturers such as JELU-WERK J. Ehrler GmbH & Co. KG, Lantmännen, Morning Foods, Oy Karl Fazer Ab, and Swedish Oat Fiber—coupled with a surge in investments in the expansion of their production capacities—is another factor contributing to the oats market growth in Europe.
Some of the major key players operating in the global oats industry includes Avena Foods, Limited; Blue Lake Milling; Glanbia Plc; Grain Millers, Inc.; JELU-WERK J. Ehrler GmbH & Co. KG; Lantmännen; Morning Foods; Oy Karl Fazer Ab; Richardson International Limited and Swedish Oat Fiber AB. The major players in the oats industry are focusing on strategies such as mergers and acquisitions and research and development to increase the geographical presence and consumer base globally.
