Fish consumption grew more than the human population

Frozen Tilapia

Fish Sauce

Francielle Rozzatti

Published Sep 24, 2020

The global consumption per capita of fish has doubled since the 1960s. In 1961 it was 5.2 kg and in 2018 it was 20.5 kg. The annual growth average is around 1.5%. Global consumption grew by 3.1% per year in the period, almost double that of the population growth and was higher than all other proteins of animal origin (bovine, swine, poultry, milk, eggs). The study is from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

In 2018, global fish production reached 179 million tons, generating revenues of US$ 401 billion. Aquaculture was responsible for 82 million tons and US$ 250 billion. Of the total produced (fisheries and aquaculture) 156 million tons were for human consumption. The other 22 million tonnes were used mainly to produce fishmeal and fish oil. Aquaculture produced 46% of the total and was responsible for 52% of human consumption.

China remains the largest producer with 35% of the total. Not counting China, Asia contributed 34%, the Americas 14%, the European Union 10%, Africa 7% and Oceania 1%.

In the Brazilian scenario, according to the Yearbook 2020 of Peixe BR (Brazilian Association of Pisciculture) in 2019, 722,560 tons were produced, with average revenue of BRL 5.6 billion. Brazil is the fourth-largest producer of tilapia, a species that represents 55.4% of the country's production. Native fish, led by tambaqui, participate with 39.8% and other species with 4.6%. This is a market that generates around 1 million direct and indirect jobs.