Industrial sourcing · China to Europe

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Buyer guide · Pet food

Pet food extrusion line from China

The headline price usually buys the extruder, but saleable kibble needs a conditioner, extruder, dryer, coater and cooler sized to one tonnage and one recipe.

Ask about this machine ↗Where the numbers come from

Written and listings checked 30 September 2026. Every figure on this page names its source.

What you are actually comparing.

Two quotes, one machine name

What hides inside the price

What the set includes

Listings describe lines 17 to 42 metres long at one price per set. Ask for an itemised list from grinder to cooler, including panel and boiler, before comparing.

Single or twin screw

Every kibble listing we read offered twin screw, but some storefronts sell one line for fish feed and pet food. Ask which screw profile was quoted for your recipe.

Preconditioner and fresh meat

One listing states its double-shaft steam conditioner takes 20 to 40% fresh meat slurry. If your label depends on fresh meat, the conditioner volume and retention time at your throughput decide whether you can make it.

Screw, barrel and die wear

Screw elements, liners and dies wear with every tonne. Ask for material, hardening, tonnes between replacements and the price of one spare set.

Installed power per tonne

Smallest listed lines state 40 to 76 kW installed; one line rated 800 to 1,000 kg per hour states 220 kW. Divide installed power by rated output to compare quotes, and ask how much of it is the dryer.

Dryer sized to the extruder

Kibble leaves the die too wet to store; one listing targets under 10% moisture after drying. The dryer is the largest item on the floor. An undersized dryer caps the line whatever the extruder can do.

Steam supply

Conditioner and steam dryer need a boiler; one listing says a separate steam source is required. No boiler quoted means a pressure vessel still to buy and have inspected.

Motor, inverter and PLC makes

One listing offers European or Chinese main motors at different prices. Name motor, inverter and PLC makes in the contract; they decide who repairs the line in Europe.

Decode the model code.

The number in an extruder code usually tracks screw size; one listing states DP65 means a 65 mm screw. It does not encode output reliably. Use it to group quotes, then compare stated output and power.

One series: DP65 = 65 mm screw, 100 to 150 kg per hour; DP100 = 100 mm screw, 1,000 to 2,000 kg per hour.
Another series rates its 75 model at 600 to 800 kg per hour and its 85 at 300 to 400. The code alone tells you nothing.
Power per tonne on one listed line: 220 kW / 0.8 to 1.0 t per hour = 220 to 275 kW per t/h.

Before you ask for a price.

Send these with the enquiry. Without them, any number a factory gives you is a guess dressed as a quotation.

Your recipe in percentages: cereals, meals, fresh meat, fat, fibre.
Target output in kilograms per hour of dried kibble, not wet extrudate.
Kibble shapes and sizes, and how many die sets come with the line.
Target bulk density, which is set at the die and cutter and decides your bag size.
Post-drying fat and palatant coating, and at what percentage.
Your steam supply, or whether a boiler must be quoted.
Hall length, width and height, since listed lines run to 42 metres.

Turn the claim into a demonstration.

Require this	A pass looks like
Your recipe, supplied by you, run on the quoted model for at least one hour after reaching steady state.	Dried kibble weighed over that hour at or above the contracted kilograms per hour, with no die blockage or surge.
Bulk density and moisture sampled every 15 minutes in that hour.	Every sample inside your density tolerance and below your moisture target.
The full line run end to end, dryer and cooler included.	Kibble leaves the cooler near room temperature at target moisture while the extruder holds contracted output.
Main motor current logged during the steady-state hour.	Load below rated current, with kilowatts per tonne recorded against the quote.

The documents that must arrive with it.

EU Declaration of Conformity for the assembled line, naming its manufacturer: Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC until 19 January 2027, Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 from 20 January 2027, plus 2014/35/EU and 2014/30/EU.
Material grades for screw, barrel, conditioner and dryer belts. Pet food falls under feed law, so ask your feed authority what it expects.
Layout drawing with steam, water and power connection points.
Wear-part drawings for screw elements, liners, dies and knives, so spares can be made locally.
Manual in the language of the country of use, schematics and PLC backup.
Pressure equipment papers for any boiler supplied.

The one people forget. The Declaration for the line as an assembly. When machines are joined into one line, someone must be manufacturer of the whole; if nobody is named, that duty falls on whoever assembles it, often the buyer.

When this is the wrong machine.

Buy something else if

Named, not hedged

You make wet food in cans, trays or pouches.

A wet pet food production line with filling and retort sterilising. Extrusion makes dry kibble only.

You need less than the smallest listed line of 100 to 150 kg per hour, or are still proving a recipe.

A contract kibble manufacturer or a pilot extruder at a technology centre until the product sells.

You sell baked treats or biscuits rather than complete kibble.

A pet biscuit machine or dog treat making machine.

Where the numbers come from.

We name the kind of source, how many and when, and never the factory. Listed prices are asking prices, not landed cost. Where we do not hold a fact we say so: that is a GAP, not an estimate.

Listings · 6Six marketplace listings, September 2026, advertised US$8,000 to US$30,000 per set, none itemised. Asking prices.
Listings · 3Three spec tables for twin-screw kibble lines, September 2026: smallest lines 100 to 160 kg per hour at 40 to 76 kW installed; one line of 800 to 1,000 kg per hour at 220 kW; stated lengths 17 to 42 metres.
Listings · 1One listing, September 2026: double-shaft steam conditioner for 20 to 40% fresh meat slurry, under 10% final moisture, separate steam source required.
Listings · 2Two listings, September 2026: one states its model number is screw diameter in mm; the other rates its 75 model at 600 to 800 kg per hour and its 85 at 300 to 400.
Arithmetic220 kW / 0.8 to 1.0 t per hour = 220 to 275 kW per t/h.
GAPGAP - no supplier quotations logged for this machine yet. Three to five quotations for one configuration would give a real price spread.

Related machines.

Kibble coating drum. Choose the kibble coating drum alone if you buy base kibble and only add fat and palatant under your brand.
Pet biscuit machine. Choose a pet biscuit machine if your product is a baked treat rather than complete dry food.

Every machine we source in this area is on the Pet food page. How a project runs, stage by stage, is on how it works, and what it costs is on pricing.

Straight answers

Questions buyers ask about this machine.

Chinese vs European pet food extrusion line: where is the real difference?+

Screw metallurgy, conditioner, controls and process support. From China you usually buy hardware and bring the recipe knowledge yourself. Budget for a process engineer at commissioning.

What belongs on a pet food extrusion line inspection checklist?+

Screw material and hardness against contract, die and cutter sets supplied, motor, inverter and PLC makes, dryer layers and belt material, guarding on every drive, and a full-line steady-state run with density and moisture recorded.

What should a pet food extrusion line factory audit look at?+

Whether screw elements are machined in-house, whether the dryer is bought in, and whether a test line with steam can run your recipe.

What CE documentation does a pet food extrusion line need?+

An EU Declaration of Conformity and technical file for the whole assembly, not only single machines, plus 2014/35/EU and 2014/30/EU. A CE mark in a brochure proves nothing. Ask for the draft Declaration before signing.

Who is the EU importer of a pet food extrusion line?+

Whoever places it on the EU market, usually the buyer when buying direct. The importer's name and address go on the machines or documents, and the importer must check the conformity documentation matches what arrived.

What does a pet food extrusion line cost from China?+

Listed set prices are low next to line descriptions needing 40 kW or more installed, and none of the listings we read itemised the set. Treat the headline as the extruder price until an itemised quote says otherwise. Asking prices are not landed cost.

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