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Origins · O1

Peru

One small fish, managed by a calendar — and still around a third of the world's fishmeal.

The Humboldt Current pushes cold, nutrient-rich water up Peru's coast, and anchoveta school on it in numbers no other stock matches. That single species — not a mix of industrial fish — is Peru's raw material, which is why "Peruvian fishmeal" reads on specification sheets as shorthand for a particular protein and freshness profile.

Anchor figures — Peru produces about one third of world fishmeal and fish oil.[1] Exports are forecast at 1.08 MMT for MY2024/25, with 591,000 t shipped in H1 2024 alone.[2]
Two seasons, one regulator

Fishing runs on a split calendar: a first season in the northern-central zone and a second season running roughly October to December, each opened, sized and closed by PRODUCE — the fisheries ministry — against stock surveys.[3] Quotas are announced per season and per zone; in weak El Niño years a season can be cut short or cancelled outright, which is exactly how 2023's global 23-percent output drop happened.

Trade role

Peru ships mainly to Asia, China above all, in the full grade ladder from FAQ to super prime. Because so much of world supply funnels through one stock and one regulator, the trade watches two things: PRODUCE's season announcements, and sea-surface temperature off Peru. Everything else is commentary.

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Sources
  1. FAO fishmeal & fish oil review (openknowledge) — openknowledge.fao.org/bitstreams/4f0c7282-7a35-4672-ba27-8f1ef84ddd7f/do (accessed 2026-10-24)
  2. Changing Markets report — changingmarkets.org/report/what-lies-beneath-uncovering-the-truth-about- (accessed 2026-10-24)
  3. USDA FAS GAIN — Oilseeds and Products Annual — apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/Report/DownloadReportByFileName?fileNam (accessed 2026-10-24)
  4. FAO fishmeal & fish oil review (openknowledge) — openknowledge.fao.org/bitstreams/70826a54-2c9e-4ab6-bb5f-4cefde630ba4/do (accessed 2026-10-24)
  5. We Are Aquaculture: first anchovy season 2026 southern Peru — weareaquaculture.com/news/fisheries/the-first-anchovy-fishing-season-202 (accessed 2026-10-24)
  6. Aquaterra Omega-3: Peru cancels anchovy season — aquaterraomega3.com/peru-cancels-anchovy-season (accessed 2026-10-24)