Fish and vegetable oil prices are eroding aquafeed margins: What can formulators do?

Fish and vegetable oil prices are eroding aquafeed margins: What can formulators do?

By Martin Guerin, Waldo Nuez-Ortin, Martha Mamora and Dedi Jusadi

Fish and vegetable oils are not only excellent sources of energy but are also superior sources of lipids such as phospholipids and n-3, n-6 and n-9 PUFAs. In shrimp feeds, fish oil also contributes dietary cholesterol required for moulting and growth.

By Martin Guerin, Waldo Nuez-Ortin, Martha Mamora and Dedi Jusadi

Fish and vegetable oils are not only excellent sources of energy but are also superior sources of essential lipids such as phospholipids and n-3, n-6 and n-9 PUFAs. In shrimp feeds, fish oil also contributes to the dietary cholesterol required for moulting and growth.

Unfortunately, in the past 3 to 4 years, vegetable oil prices have drastically increased in price. Presently, prices are on average 1.5 times higher than in Q1-2019 and have reached as high as 2.5 to 3 times increase during Q2-2022 mainly due to the Ukraine crisis (Figure 1). In parallel, prices of fish oil, traditionally the most expensive of oils, but essential to aquafeeds, did not increase so drastically up to mid-2022. Thereafter, however, the price growth of fish oil started outpacing the price of other oils and after Peru’s latest fishing ban has exceeded USD5.0/kg in Q2 2023, i.e. over 3 times higher than in Q1-2019.

This places aquaculture nutritionists in Asia in a quandary since other raw materials have also increased in price, often faster than prices of locally consumed farmed fish. As a result, feed mills had no choice but to increase feed prices