El Niño weighs on Peru and Chile’s marine ingredients output
Peru and Chile were the largest contributors to the decline in fishmeal and fish oil production, as El Niño continued to affect output from the two major producing countries. Lower catches in parts of Africa and northern Europe added to the global shortfall.
“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”
“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”, said Enrico Bachis, market research director at IFFO, in a press release.
China’s fishmeal production has resumed
China’s domestic production of fishmeal and fish oil resumed in August. Although the initial estimates indicate that domestic output through July 2026 was better than the levels seen a year ago, the availability of fish raw material since August remains to be observed.
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.
For specialty species such as largemouth bass, snakehead and yellow catfish, farm-gate prices remain weak. Market data show that stocking volumes for these species declined year on year during the first half of 2026, suggesting that feed demand and fishmeal consumption may weaken during the grow-out stage. In contrast, feed and fishmeal demand for high-value species with stronger profit margins remains stable or is showing signs of improvement. Nevertheless, persistently high farming costs with less supply have contributed to an overall year-on-year decline in fishmeal consumption.
In China’s pig sector, fishmeal consumption also remains subdued, primarily due to weaker demand for piglet and commercial piglet feed. Given the current market conditions, fishmeal demand from the pig sector is unlikely to see a meaningful recovery during the remainder of 2026.
