Fish Meal Supply and Price Trends

Fish meal supplies have trended upward since the end of World War II. In the 1961-62 feeding year, supplies reached a record high of 615,000 tons, over 3 times the level in 1946-47 and about 50 percent more than 5 years ago. During 1946-55, annual production of fish meal increased from nearly 200,000 tons to around 350,000. Output has remained at about that level in the past 7 years. Imports of fish meal in recent years have accounted for most of the annual increase in supplies. In 1961-62, a new record quantity of nearly 260,000 tons was imported. This was 42 percent of the total supply compared with only 20 percent 5 years ago. About 80 percent of this total came from Peru.