IFFO sees positive trend for global fishmeal output

11-Aug-2020 - Last updated on 07-Aug-2020 at 06:53 GMT

June this year saw significant marine raw material production, well above the average for output that month during the years, 2011- 2019, said the IFFO, the marine ingredients organization, in a report this month.

The IFFO has been analyzing the main marine ingredient market trends from January until June this year. It analyses both the supply and demand sides of the market, with research focusing also on the global trends of animal farming and fish catches, agri-commodities, commodities’ prices and general macroeconomic conditions.

It reported higher-than-average landings in Peru in June, saying that factor boosted output, but adding that the Northern European countries and India also showed a historically higher availability of raw material for the same period.

Indeed, year on year, total raw material production in June was almost 60% higher, it noted.

“Total cumulative fishmeal production throughout June continued to recover with respect to the previous year and was estimated to be below last year’s output by only 7.5%.”

Cumulative fish oil production was also down by 7%, year on year, in June, with significant drops seen in Peru, India, Iceland and the US.

Improvement in output is also being reported in the African countries, mainly due to better production in South Africa, but also as a result of the additional production of tuna oil in the Ivory Coast, where production started in 2020.

Chinese scenario

China, by far the main market for marine ingredients, saw its economy rebound in the second quarter of 2020 with a stronger-than-expected GDP growth of 3.2% from a year earlier. But the recent flooding in the Yangtze river basin adversely affected aquaculture, causing damage to farms, said the IFFO.

Moreover, following the episodes that linked imported seafood to COVID-19, Chinese authorities enhanced inspections on both imported and domestic aqua-products, dealing a further blow to industry plans to regain the trust of consumers, found the report.

Fishing grounds in China are still under a fishing ban with fishmeal plants still at a low operative rate, highlighted the organization.

“Fishmeal imports are starting to increase while stocks of fishmeal imports in ports have declined as consumption remains stable. The new crops of Peruvian fishmeal are expected to be available in China [this month].”