Global fishmeal production tumbled 11 percent in the first two months of 2022, while fish oil production rose 12 percent, according to IFFO, the international trade body that represents the marine ingredients industry.
IFFO calculates production of fishmeal in the countries with companies involved in IFFO, covering approximately 50 percent of the world’s production, and can be taken as a proxy for global trends, the group said.
Higher fishmeal production was reported in Northern Europe, the United States, and India, while lower catch totals in Peru hurt the total, IFFO Market Research Director Enrico Bachis said.
“This is mainly due to fewer catches in the north-center [fishery] of Peru in Q1 2022, while the higher capelin catches in Iceland have pushed up fish oil output,” Bachis said.
Northern Europe, the U.S., and Spain all reported higher cumulative year-over-year fish oil production in the first two months of 2022, IFFO said.
China’s fishmeal imports in January and February 2022 decreased year-over-year, though “the rate of fishmeal offtakes from ports is beginning to accelerate,” according to Bachis.
“It was lower in the first quarter 2022 compared with the same period of time in 2021. Among the reasons for such a decrease are earlier procurement from feed mills at the end of 2021, logistics, and sanitary prevention measures against COVID-19 at ports,” he said.
Peru, Russia, and Vietnam ranked as the top three providers of fishmeal to China at the beginning of the year, IFFO said.
China’s domestic production of fishmeal and fish oil “remains subdued” because of severe disruptions due to COVID-19, as parts of the country remain in lockdown due to an ongoing outbreak of the omicron variant. Additionally, a stricter domestic fishing moratorium goes into effect across the Chinese coastline in May and will last through September. However, Bachis predicted the Chinese market will ramp up moving into the summer, despite predicted ongoing disruptions to the beginning of China’s aquaculture season, which typically begins in April.
“This year, fishmeal and fish oil output from byproducts may ramp up as ready-to-eat meals are becoming more popular in China. Moreover, China is increasing domestic processing of snakehead and channel catfish, which generally provide good sources of byproducts,” Bachis said.
Photo courtesy of KarenMurray/IFFO
