The Peruvian authorities have officially closed the second fishing season of anchovy and white anchovy in the North-Centre region for 2023 on January 13, 2024. This information comes from Ministerial Decree 8/2024-PRODUCE, as reported by IFFO.
As of today, approximately 75% of the 1.682 million tons quota for the second fishing season has been landed in the North-Centre area of Peru. The early start of the season in October 2023 led to increased catches in November, contributing significantly to the overall surge in raw material usage. Chile and the North Atlantic region also reported larger catches.
Considering the countries analyzed in the IFFO (Peru, Chile, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, UK, Ireland, Faroe Islands, USA, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Mauritius, and Spain) reports, which represent 55% of global fishmeal and fish oil production, cumulative total fishmeal production in the first 11 months of 2023 decreased by around 16% compared to the same period in 2022. The main factor for this decline is attributed to the 41% year-on-year decrease in Peru, impacted by the El Niño phenomenon and the cancellation of the April-June first fishing season.
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For fish oil, total cumulative output in the first 11 months of 2023 was nearly 20% lower year-on-year. The supply shortage in Peru, due to both fewer landings and lower oil yields, was the primary cause of this negative performance. Chile was the only country showing a positive change year-on-year due to healthier catches and higher-than-average oil yields in the South of the country.
China’s Fishmeal Slowdown
Total fishmeal arrivals in China have slowed down, failing to compensate for off-takes from the main ports’ warehouses. Estimated off-takes of imported fishmeal from China’s main ports’ warehouses in week 2 of 2024 are nearly 15,000 mt, lower than the amount reported in week 1 and the average for the same week from 2014 to 2023. Recent slowdown in total fishmeal arrivals in China is causing the total stock of imported fishmeal to slightly decrease, although it remains above the average value reported for week 2 between 2019 and 2023.
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