Market Insights9 Sept 20261 min read
Fish meal prices in Q3: what feed mills should expect
Reduced pelagic catches in Southeast Asia and steady aquaculture demand are keeping fish meal firm. Here is how we read the next quarter.
Fish meal remains the benchmark protein for aqua feed, and its price is shaped by a handful of variables: catch volumes at origin, soybean meal as the substitution reference, freight rates and currency movements.
Supply side
Landings in Vietnam and Thailand were modest through the monsoon window, while Peruvian quotas provided limited relief to global stocks. Producers we work with are running at 70–80% of capacity.
Demand side
Shrimp farming in Bangladesh, India and Indonesia is expanding stocking density, and premium 65%+ grades are the first to tighten.
What we recommend
- Lock in Q4 volumes for 65% grades now.
- Consider 60% grades and poultry by-product meal to balance cost in grower feeds.
- Ask for TVN and histamine on every COA — freshness is where the value is.
- #fish meal
- #aquaculture
- #Asia
