Reduced amount of fish oil in world market - In Chile, the fishing activity and oil production remain low after the February earthquake.

The little fish oil produced is all shipped to the south for use in feed for the aquaculture industry. In Peru catches were higher in the first quarter of 2010 than in the corresponding period of 2009, but oil yield was very low, thus fish oil production is not very good. Fish oil prices increased somewhat during the first quarter of 2010, but not as much as fishmeal prices. The main reason for a relatively sluggish market was the abundant availability of competing vegetable oils, at discounted prices.

In 2009, total fish oil production by the five main exporting countries (Peru, Chile, Iceland, Norway and Denmark) was 530 000 tonnes, a 100 000 tonne decline from the 2008 output. Peru and Chile reported a 10% reduction in production, while Scandinavian countries reported a 30% decline.

Fish oil prices reached USD 950/tonne in March 2010, which is 50% ahead of last year’s price level. Fish oil prices now exceed soybean oil prices by USD 50/tonne, while last year they were USD 120/tonne below that of the competing product.

Fish oil prices expected to soar

Fish oil prices are likely to go up further, as some sectors of the fish culture business rely heavily on fish oil in their operations, especially for outgrowing. The supply will be limited this year, especially in view of disappointing yield, a result of the high water temperature in South American waters.