Fish meal prices remain high with no peak in sight

The global fishmeal market experienced a sustained upward trend in 2026, with domestic fishmeal prices soaring. There were no clear signs of a market top,leading to a simultaneous increase in the prices of alternative animal protein raw materials such as meat and bone meal and chicken meal,further amplifying cost pressures across the entire industry chain.

As early as the end of May, industry news outlets issued warnings that after Peru implemented a large-scale,partial fishing ban, domestic fishmeal prices successfully broke through the 20,000 yuan mark, indicating an initial upward trend. Entering June,negative market factors intensified, with the Peruvian Ministry of Production officially announcing a complete suspension of fishing in the central and northern waters.The resumption of fishing in the production area depends entirely on the assessment results of the marine research institute Imarpe regarding fish populations and the proportion of juvenile fish in the area, making a short-term lifting of fishing restrictions unlikely.Affected by this, Peru’s total anchovy catch in the central and northern waters this season stopped at 466,000 tons,far below the expected quota, widening the global fishmeal supply gap and directly contributing to domestic fishmeal prices repeatedly hitting record highs,making it difficult to reverse the high-price situation.

According to JCI Information’s real-time monitoring, the current spot reference price for Peruvian super steam fishmeal at southern ports in my country has stabilized at 23,900-24,000 yuan/ton,while prices at northern ports have also remained above 23,400 yuan/ton. Holders are generally reluctant to sell, resulting in tight spot market liquidity.Downstream feed companies are only replenishing their inventories in small quantities as needed, with little large-scale stockpiling activity. Meanwhile,international markets have strengthened significantly, with the CNF pre-sale price of Peruvian super fishmeal reaching 3,200 USD/ton.The El Niño climate continues to disrupt marine ecosystems, and the expectation for continued weak fishing activity further supports the firm price of raw materials.

The shortage of fishmeal has spurred demand for alternatives, and the price increase has quickly spread,with meat and bone meal and chicken meal prices rising simultaneously.Many feed manufacturers have reduced the proportion of fishmeal in their formulations and increased the use of poultry and livestock by-product protein raw materials.The increased demand has led traders to raise their prices, and transaction prices for all grades of raw materials have steadily increased,indicating that protein raw materials as a whole have entered a period of price increases.

Industry analysts believe that Peruvian catches are unlikely to increase significantly in the short term, and domestic port inventories remain low, so the high price of fishmeal will continue,with meat and bone meal and chicken meal following suit. Aquaculture and feed companies need to control costs,optimize their formulas, and pay close attention to overseas fishing developments,flexibly adjusting their procurement pace to offset the operational pressure from continuously rising raw material prices.Faced with tight protein raw material supply and the industry’s urgent need for cost reduction and quality improvement,professional complete sets of fishmeal processing equipment have become key to breaking the industry’s deadlock.Hebei Chengzhu has been developing and manufacturing complete fishmeal and meat and bone meal production lines for many years.Their integrated equipment, encompassing cooking, pressing, drying, and waste gas treatment,is energy-saving and reduces consumption, stably producing high-quality fishmeal and animal protein raw materials.Suitable for small and medium-sized processing plants and large-scale protein processing projects,their equipment is sold both domestically and internationally,helping manufacturers increase their raw material self-sufficiency and alleviate the cost impact of high-priced imported fishmeal.