(fis.com) Peru’s fishmeal exports this year are forecast at 1.3 million tonnes -- remaining constant as the previous year. China continued to be the leading export market for Peruvian fishmeal with 58 per cent of the market share in 2011, with Germany at 9 per cent and Japan at 7 per cent, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Total fish catch for reduction in 2011 was 6 million tonnes, about a 10 per cent rise compared to 2010. Positive weather conditions, especially water temperature, allowed for higher total catches and thereby more fishmeal production.
The USDA Foreign Agricultural Service's report states that fishmeal exports totalled USD 1.8 billion in 2011 at an average export price of USD 1,365 per tonne. Fishmeal is Peru’s fourth largest export.
USDA highlights that Peru’s fishing industry is firmly controlled by the government, which has made an effort to reduce overfishing and enhance the sustainability of Peruvian fisheries by establishing a fishing quota. It used to be 8.5 million tonnes per year but was cut to 5 million annual tonnes.
Currently, the Peruvian Government has set individual fishing quotas per boat and individual processing licensing per plant. Additionally, the government imposes fishing bans contingent on the size of the fish.
International fishmeal prices in 2011 remained high; the price of Prime meal averaged USD 1,400 per tonne compared to USD 700 a few years ago.
The report adds that at the moment, the total industry debt is estimated at USD 600 million with annual financing costs of about USD 180 million. This debt emerged in 1997-8 as a result of El Niño weather phenomenon, which drove the fish away from the Peruvian coast and paralyzed all industrial fishing activity for 18 months.
Fishmeal consumption in Peru is insignificant and thus does not have a large impact on the export market. Consumption for 2012 is forecast at about 14,000 tonnes.
Local consumption is expected to remain low and even fall as a result of high international prices and augmented demand from foreign aquaculture industries, as fish is used as a protein source in animal feed and especially at shrimp farms in northern Peru.