The latest IFFO market intelligence report for January-August 2021, which covers IFFO’s analysis on marine ingredient market trends, found reduced raw material tonnage but higher cumulative fishmeal and fish oil production compared to 2020.
The total raw material in July 2021 was smaller than the tonnage reported in July 2020 by around 35%. This is mainly due to the fact that the first fishing season in Peru in 2020 stretched well into July (as operations only started on May 13, 2020), whereas this year the month of July only captured the tail end of the North/Centre fishing season. The Iceland/North Atlantic area, USA and India improved their performance year on year, but this was not enough to offset the loss in Peru, Denmark/Norway and the African countries.
The total cumulative productions of the countries that IFFO covers in its report were higher year on year during the first seven months of 2021: fishmeal up by 8% and fish oil up by 17%. In terms of fishmeal, Peru, Chile and India were the only countries to report a higher cumulative production during the first seven months of 2021 for the period January-July 2020. In terms of fish oil, Peru, Chile, India and the Iceland/North Atlantic area were the regions that managed to improve their cumulative production during the first seven months of this year.
China’s domestic fishmeal output remained low during the fishing ban while imported fishmeal stocks reached records. The Chinese domestic fishmeal production between May and September relies only on byproducts, thus volumes remain subdued. All fishing grounds, except for the South China Sea, will remain under a fishing ban until September. Shipments of imported fishmeal continue to grow, with record-high stocks in the ports´ warehouses.
The average price of aquatic products continues to rise every year, supported by healthy trading volumes. Recently, even shrimp prices have started to move up thanks to the improved demand. Aquaculture remains in its seasonal peak, with aquafeed output on the rise again in July 2021.
