Worldwide fishmeal production down by almost a half

IFFO said Peru and Chile were the largest contributors to the shortfall, with softer catches in the African countries and Northern Europe compounding the global decline.

“The reduced fishmeal and fish oil supply from South America might be offset by some of the regions in Asia that have their peak fishing season in the last quarter of the year. China, India and Oman are some of them”, added Enrico Bachis, Market research Director at IFFO.

Peru’s anchovy season was terminated early this year and this has been attributed to conditions created by an especially strong El Niño climate event.

Better news is that China’s domestic production of fishmeal and fish oil resumed in August. Although IFFO’s initial estimates indicate that domestic output through July 2026 was better than the levels seen a year ago, the organisation said availability of fish raw material since August remains to be observed.  

The IFFO report said: “In China, August represents the peak of summer and a critical growth stage for aquaculture species. However, it is also a challenging period marked by heightened management difficulties and elevated production risks. Recent extreme weather events, including typhoons, have further disrupted coastal aquaculture operations. Although overall aquaculture feed demand has entered its seasonal peak, demand varies considerably across species.”

Stocking volumes for speciality species such as largemouth bass, snakehead, and yellow catfish are expected to be lower, reducing overall demand for feed, and demand for fishmeal from China’s pig producers is also likely to mitigate pressures on aquafeed production.

IFFO said demand for feed from producers of high value species with bigger profit margins remains high.