Peru fishmeal may return strongly in 2021, with pre-sales exceeding 200,000 tons in the first production season

According to customs statistics, in 2020, China imported about 1.42 million tons of fishmeal, of which about 654,000 tons were imported from Peru, a decrease of 15% compared to the previous year; imports from places of origin other than Peru reached 767,000 tons, an increase of 17%. Imports exceeded US$1 billion for the first time. But for now, the Peruvian fishmeal industry does not seem to worry about the Chinese market. James Frank, general manager of Peruvian fishmeal trading company MSICeres, told UCN: “The reason why China buys fishmeal from other countries is mainly because of Peru. Production is insufficient, especially in the second season of 2019. The catch is sluggish and the supply is quite tight.” From the data point of view, China imports more fishmeal than the other 12 countries (the largest fishmeal importer outside of China) combined. (Figure below), Chile, Mauritania and Southeast Asian countries have expanded their fishmeal exports year by year, and all of them ...