Black Soldier Fly Larvae Price per Kg: Chart and Drivers

There is no public, regularly updated black soldier fly larvae price per kg for South Africa. Published figures include about US$1 a kg for insect-based feed sold in Uganda in 2022 (Abro and others, Frontiers in Insect Science, 2022) and an assumed €5.21 per kg of dry matter for defatted larvae meal in a Dutch model published in 2024 (prices from 2023). For comparison, German fishmeal averaged US$1.71 a kg and soybean meal US$0.37 a kg in 2025 (World Bank).

This page shows those published numbers side by side, explains why the price of BSF larvae swings so much between products and markets, and gives you a calculator to work out the price you need from your own waste, yields and costs. It is written for South African farmers and feed buyers, but the method works in any currency.

Black soldier fly larvae price per kg: published figures

We found no regularly published price list for BSF products in South Africa. The table lists the figures we could trace to a named study or dataset. Each one measures something different, so read the “What it is” column before you compare.

The Uganda price is the market price the study reports for insect-based feed (BSF larvae meal), citing a 2022 personal communication from an insect feed consultant. The study’s separate survey of 14 insect feed farmers in Kayunga district gives an average exchange rate of 3,681 shillings to the US dollar, which we used for the dollar figure. The Dutch figures come from Leipertz, Hogeveen and Saatkamp in Poultry Science (2024), who used a most likely price plus a best and a worst case. The fishmeal and soybean meal prices are annual averages from the World Bank Pink Sheet (annual prices, updated September 2026).

None of these is a South African quote. To get a rand price, ask two or three local producers for a written quote that states the product form, the protein and fat content, the moisture and the delivery terms, then compare like with like.

Why BSF larvae prices vary so much

The same insect is sold in at least four forms. Each form has a different water content, shelf life and use, so a “price per kg” means little until you know which one you are buying.

Fresh, dried, meal or oil

The Eawag guide to BSF biowaste processing (2nd edition, 2021) lists the main products and their typical make-up. Its figures are per kg of product as sold.

Fresh larvae are mostly water. Eawag says sanitised larvae hold around 75 percent water, and drying removes about 70 percent of their mass. Pressing the dried larvae then splits them into roughly 70 percent press cake, which is ground into meal, and 20 percent crude oil. So 1 kg of dried larvae comes from about 3 kg of fresh larvae, and 1 kg of meal needs even more. A fair price per kg rises at each step.

Moisture figures differ between sources. Feedipedia, the feed database run by INRAE, CIRAD, AFZ and FAO (datasheet updated September 2026), reports a dry matter content of 35 to 45 percent for fresh larvae, against Eawag’s roughly 25 percent. Ask your supplier for a moisture test rather than assume either value.

Volume, contract and registration

Other things move the price:

• Volume. A feed mill that buys tonnes on a yearly contract pays a different price from a hobby farmer buying a sack.
• Consistency. Feed mills need the same protein and fat every batch, backed by lab results.
• Registration. In South Africa, feed sold to farmers must be registered (see the rules section below). Registered products carry testing and paperwork costs.
• Distance. Fresh larvae last only a day or two, so they are sold close to where they are grown.
• Retail packs. Small packs of dried larvae sold for pets and reptiles are priced per pack. Do not use them as a guide to bulk feed prices.

Protein and fat depend on the feed and on defatting

Feedipedia groups dried BSF larvae into two types. Full-fat larvae (more than 20 percent fat) average 41.1 percent crude protein and 35.5 percent fat on a dry matter basis. Defatted products (less than 20 percent fat) average 56.6 percent protein and 12 percent fat. The spread inside each group is wide, because fat content follows what the larvae ate: Feedipedia cites 15 to 25 percent fat for larvae fed on poultry manure and 42 to 49 percent for larvae fed oil-rich food waste.

Chart

Protein and fat in dried BSF larvae, lowest to highest reported

Percent of dry matter, range of values in the Feedipedia datasets

For a buyer, this means protein per rand matters more than price per kg. A cheap full-fat meal may cost more per kg of protein than a dearer defatted meal.

Eggs and young larvae

We found no published price list for BSF eggs. In the Uganda survey, every farmer bought young (first-stage) larvae rather than keeping breeding flies, at a cost of about US$5 a cycle on small farms and US$19 on large farms (study published 2022). Producers who keep their own breeding unit avoid this cost but need a dark pupation area and a mating cage, which the Eawag guide describes step by step.

How BSF prices compare with fishmeal and soybean meal

Insect meal competes with the two main protein feeds: fishmeal and soybean meal. Benchmark prices for both are public, which makes them a useful yardstick. In the World Bank’s annual data, fishmeal stayed between US$1.37 and US$1.81 a kg from 2015 to 2025, and soybean meal between US$0.35 and US$0.55 a kg.

Chart

Benchmark fishmeal and soybean meal prices

US$ per kg, annual averages, nominal, 2015 to 2025

The gap matters. Larvae meal is often compared with fishmeal, because both are rich animal proteins. At the Dutch study’s assumed €5.21 per kg of dry matter, defatted larvae meal is priced well above the World Bank benchmark fishmeal price. Low-cost local production can change this. In the Uganda study, local insect-based feed (3,850 shillings a kg) sold for less than local fishmeal (5,000 shillings) and soybean meal (4,500 shillings) in 2022. The same study says the price of local fishmeal had risen from about 2,000 shillings a kg in 2005.

South Africa’s local fishmeal and soybean meal prices are set by its own harvests, imports and the rand. Check current local quotes for both before you decide what a fair BSF price is.

Chart

Local protein feed prices in Uganda

Ugandan shillings per kg, 2022, as quoted in one study

What a feed buyer can afford to pay

A buyer will only pay a price that keeps the feed cost of meat, eggs or fish in line. Two studies worked this out.

Shrimp in Brazil. In a nursery trial with Pacific white shrimp, larvae meal replaced fishmeal; the cost simulations assumed fishmeal at US$1.86 a kg. The study’s author reports in the Global Seafood Alliance’s Advocate (January 2024) that in those simulations full fishmeal replacement still paid at US$2.65 a kg of larvae meal, and that the return on investment fell noticeably only when more than 75 percent of the fishmeal was replaced and larvae meal cost more than US$3.04 a kg.

Broiler chickens in the Netherlands. The Dutch broiler model found a much lower ceiling. For defatted larvae meal to break even, it could cost only €490 per tonne of dry matter in conventional broiler production and €618 in a higher-welfare system, against the €5,209 assumed in the model. The authors did not expect insects to enter the Dutch mass poultry feed market soon unless important conditions change. Their break-even values rest on Dutch soybean meal and oil prices, so they do not transfer directly to South Africa.

In these two studies, the shrimp nursery diet could pay several times more per kg of larvae meal than Dutch broiler feed, where the price of soybean meal and oil sets the bar. If you produce larvae, the buyer you target sets your price more than your cost does.

Chart

Assumed price versus break-even price in Dutch broiler feed

Euro per kg of dry matter, Netherlands model published 2024, prices from 2023

Is black soldier fly farming profitable?

It can be, but the evidence is thin and local. In the Uganda survey of 14 farms, all three farm types made a positive gross margin. The gross margin ratio was 65 percent for small farms using plastic drums, 55 percent for medium farms and 52 percent for large greenhouse farms. These farmers mainly fed the live larvae to their own livestock, often chickens and pigs on mixed farms, and gross margin leaves out buildings and other fixed costs, so it is not the same as profit.

Your margin depends on four things you can measure:

1. Waste supply. How many kg of suitable organic waste you can get each week, and whether you are paid to take it or pay for it.
2. Conversion. Eawag reports that larvae make up 10 to 20 percent of the waste’s wet weight, and frass (the leftover residue) 20 to 40 percent. Waste reduction is 60 to 85 percent on a dry weight basis, depending on the waste.
3. Processing. Drying, pressing and milling add energy and equipment cost but turn a one-day product into one that keeps for months.
4. Sale price. Larvae plus frass income must cover labour, energy, the breeding unit and waste transport.

As a rule of thumb, the Eawag guide feeds 10,000 young larvae a total of 12 kg of waste (75 percent water) and harvests them after 12 days. Use the calculator below with your own numbers to see the dried-larvae price you need to break even.

Try the numbers for your own farm below.

How to work out your own BSF larvae price per kg

If you plan to sell larvae, use this order of work. It turns your costs into a price you can defend to a buyer.

Infographic

Pricing your larvae in 5 steps

1. 1Weigh inputsRecord waste in, larvae out and frass out for each batch.
2. 2Test the productGet moisture, protein and fat from an accredited lab.
3. 3Add up costsLabour, drying energy, transport, breeding and packaging.
4. 4Find break-evenWeekly costs minus frass income, divided by kg of dried larvae.
5. 5Compare protein costCheck local fishmeal and soybean meal per kg of protein.

1. Weigh your inputs for a month. Record kg of waste in, kg of fresh larvae out and kg of frass out for each batch.
2. Test the product. Send a sample to an accredited lab for moisture, protein and fat. Buyers will ask for this.
3. Add up weekly costs. Labour, energy for drying, waste transport, the breeding unit and packaging.
4. Work out the break-even price. Subtract frass income from weekly costs and divide by kg of dried larvae (the calculator does this).
5. Compare with the buyer’s options. Check the local price of fishmeal and soybean meal per kg of protein. If your price per kg of protein is well above theirs, a feed buyer has a cheaper option.

Rules for selling BSF feed in South Africa

In South Africa, anyone who makes, imports or sells farm feed or pet food must be registered under the Fertilizers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Remedies Act, 1947 (Act 36 of 1947). The government service page on registering farm feeds and pet food says an application needs a certificate of analysis from an accredited laboratory, the proposed label and the prescribed fee. Registrations last three years, and processing can take up to four months. The same Act also covers fertilisers, which matters if you plan to sell frass. Ask the Registrar for Act 36 which category your product falls under before you sell it.

Safety rules matter as much as the paperwork. The FAO report Looking at edible insects from a food safety perspective (2021) reviews the food safety issues that can come with farmed insects and the rules that govern them in different regions. Control what the larvae eat, keep batch records, and follow the label and local rules for any feed you make or use.

Black soldier fly basics for new growers

The black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) is a fly whose larvae eat decaying organic matter. The University of Florida’s Featured Creatures fact sheet (EENY-461) gives these points:

• Larvae pass through six stages and need about 14 days to complete development, according to the study it cites.
• Adults do not need to feed. They live on fat stored during the larval stage.
• The fly is not known as a disease vector, but adults can carry germs on their bodies, so hygiene still matters.
• Because the larvae eat decaying matter, they have been used to reduce manure in commercial pig and poultry houses.

The Eawag guide lists municipal organic waste, food and restaurant waste, market waste, food processing waste, spent grains, slaughterhouse waste and poultry and pig manure among the wastes found suitable. It adds that poor feed slows growth and lowers the final larval weight. What the larvae eat also changes their fat content, as the figures above show, and rules on which wastes may be fed differ by country.

Frass: the second income

Frass is the mix of larval droppings, uneaten feed and shed skins left after harvest. Eawag notes that frass can be composted into a soil conditioner and that growth trials with crops show promising results, but research on frass is less advanced than research on larvae as feed. If you sell it, treat it as a fertiliser product and check the registration rules. Using frass on your own fields fits with other sustainable farming practices such as recycling crop residues.

The wider picture in Africa

A World Bank report released in December 2021 modelled insect farming on crop waste across Africa. It estimated crude protein worth up to US$2.6 billion a year and biofertiliser worth up to US$19.4 billion, enough protein for up to 14 percent of the crude protein needs of Africa’s pigs, goats, fish and poultry. These are model estimates of potential, not current output, and the report’s survey covered 13 African countries.

How we checked the numbers

We used only figures we could trace to a named study, dataset or government page, and we opened each source. Prices are given in the currency and year of the source and are not converted to rand, because a conversion at one day’s exchange rate would add an error. The World Bank prices are annual averages for specific grades and ports, so local prices will differ. The study prices are model assumptions, simulation results or a market price reported in one study, not market indexes. The earlier version of this page listed rand prices by province; we could not find any published source for them, so they are not repeated here.

Where Farmonaut fits

Farmonaut does not measure larvae or set feed prices. The Farmonaut Satellite + AI Farm Monitoring System maps crop health from satellite images, which can help if you also grow the crops that supply waste or receive frass. You can open it in the Farmonaut web app. Farmonaut also offers a farm management app for large estates, plus carbon footprinting, product traceability and fleet management pages. Developers can read the satellite and weather API developer docs.

FAQ

What is the price of black soldier fly larvae per kg in South Africa?

No public price index exists. Prices are set by quote and depend on the form (fresh, dried, meal or oil), protein, fat, moisture and volume. Published figures from other markets include about US$1 a kg for insect-based feed in Uganda (2022) and an assumed €5.21 per kg of dry matter for defatted meal in a Dutch model (published 2024, prices from 2023). Get written local quotes.

What is the price per ton of BSF larvae meal?

Multiply the price per kg by 1,000. The Dutch study’s assumed €5.21 per kg of dry matter equals €5,209 per tonne of dry matter. Its break-even price for broiler feed was far lower, at €490 to €618 per tonne of dry matter.

Is black soldier fly larvae meal cheaper than fishmeal?

Sometimes. In Uganda in 2022, local insect feed sold for less than local fishmeal. In Europe, model prices for defatted larvae meal were well above the World Bank benchmark fishmeal price (German, 64 percent protein), which averaged US$1.71 a kg in 2025 (World Bank).

How much larvae does 1 tonne of waste give?

The Eawag guide gives 10 to 20 percent of the waste’s wet weight as larvae, so 100 to 200 kg of fresh larvae per tonne, plus 200 to 400 kg of frass. Drying removes about 70 percent of the larvae’s mass.

Do I need a licence to sell BSF feed in South Africa?

Farm feed and pet food sold in South Africa must be registered under Act 36 of 1947. Registration needs a lab certificate of analysis and a label, lasts three years and can take up to four months. Contact the Registrar for Act 36 for your product.

How long do black soldier fly larvae take to grow?

About two weeks under good conditions. The University of Florida fact sheet cites about 14 days to complete larval development, and the Eawag system harvests after 12 days of feeding on waste.