Lang
Global fish oil production rose 71% in January 2025 compared with the same period last year, according to data released by the International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organisation (IFFO).
The increase was mainly driven by a substantial rise in output from Peru, according to a statement published on the organisation's website.
In its statement dated 18 March, IFFO added that other regions also recorded increases in fish oil production compared with the same period the previous year, with the exception of Northern European countries.
The data was based on statistics submitted by IFFO members in Chile, Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Ivory Coast, Mauritius, Norway, the United Kingdom, the United States, Peru, South Africa and Spain, which together account for 40% of global fishmeal production and 50% of global fish oil production.
According to the IFFO website, fishmeal and fish oil production has remained relatively stable over the past decade, at around 5 million tonnes of fishmeal and 1 million tonnes of fish oil annually. Fishmeal and fish oil are produced from feed fish and from by-products of fish processing that would otherwise be wasted.
Scandinavian countries accounted for 14% of fish oil production between 2013 and 2023, followed by Vietnam with 13%, Chile and Peru with 11% each, China and the United States with 7% each, Japan with 6%, and Morocco with 3%. The aquafeed industry accounted for more than 60% of fish oil consumption in 2023.
IFFO has around 250 members in about 50 countries, representing more than 45% of global fishmeal and fish oil production and 80% of the global trade volume in these two products.