May 23, 2007

 

Peru's Q1 2007 fishmeal output down 41.5 percent on-year

 

 

Peru's fishmeal production fell 41.5 percent to 103,100 tonnes in the first three months of the year compared to the same period a year earlier, according to figures from the Ministry of Production.

 

In March, Peru produced 28,400 tonnes of fishmeal compared with 86,100 tonnes in the same month a year ago.

 

Peru is the world's largest producer and exporter of fishmeal, used chiefly as animal feed.

 

Peru regularly imposes bans on anchovy fishing to protect the stocks based on findings from the scientific research agency, Imarpe.

 

A seasonal ban was in place in March along most of the Peruvian coast.

 

The anchovy haul, used to make fish meal, was 121,100 tonnes in March compared with 406,900 tonnes in the same month a year ago.

 

The Ministry of Production said that the total fish haul was 241,400 tonnes in March compared with 534,000 in the same month a year earlier.

 

Meanwhile, Peru exported 119,100 tonnes of fishmeal in March compared with 120,800 in March 2006.

 

Some of the fishmeal exports consist of stock from earlier months, a ministry official said Tuesday.

 

Peru's overall fish exports brought in US$179 million in March compared with US$124.2 million in March last year.

 

According to figures from the private sector National Fishing Society, Peru's anchovy haul reached 5.89 million tonnes in 2006 compared with 8.63 million tonnes in 2005.

 

Peru set an initial quota of three million tonnes of anchovies for the first half of 2007.