IFFO, The Marine Ingredients Organisation, this week published the first ever Annual Report for the organisation. With over half a century of history, IFFO’s work to assist and engage with the industry covers a broad canvas and this report gives a snapshot of the work in 2016. The report gives succinct summaries of IFFO’s core areas of work including stakeholder engagement, technical projects and market research. IFFO will present the report to members at this week’s annual meeting in Barcelona, which will be attended by 157 members from 27 countries.
It was another busy year for IFFO, with three hosted member events, attended by 869 delegates in total; 90 market reports, 24 of which focused on the fast growing Chinese market; and pioneering research from Stirling University. Information as always is key and in 2016 IFFO worked hard to expand its methods of data collection by gathering production and/or trade annual data for 109 countries; monthly data for 30 countries and weekly data for around 10 countries. Data is collected from multiple sources to ensure accuracy, with the most important source being IFFO’s members, which represents more than 50% of the total world production and between 75% and 80% of the total annual trade of marine ingredients worldwide.
IFFO continued its efforts in driving research for the industry, with the completion of a Stirling University study on byproduct use in fishmeal and fish oil production. The project was commissioned in 2014 to provide an analysis of raw material availability and estimates for the global quantity of fishmeal and fish oil that could be produced assuming that all byproduct could be utilised as raw material. Nearly 20 million tonnes of raw material are used annually in the production of marine ingredients, but the model showed an estimated 35 million tonnes available for marine ingredients production, should all byproduct be collected. This increases to a total of 45 million tonnes being available in 10 years’ time. The figures provided by this research will help to inform discussions about the future development of the industry, and are important in emphasising the increasing contribution that byproduct will make to raw material supply.
With such diverse group as IFFO, successful stakeholder engagement is crucial and IFFO works hard to engage beyond its members to press, academia, regulatory bodies, governments, NGOs and the wider industry. In 2016, we represented members at an international working with Codex (Fish oil standard), the United Nations Economic and Social Council’s Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous (UNTDG) goods and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) (antioxidants), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (data and statistics), and not least with the European Commission during our work on the reauthorisation of ethoxyquin in the EU. A particular highlight was the interaction with the UN-TDG where a change in the wording relating to the shipping of fishmeal has been proposed. Finally, IFFO’s Annual Conference in Bangkok brought many of our stakeholders together to give a 360-degree overview of the marine ingredients industry.
IFFO Director General Andrew Mallison stated that “this report is intended to give an overview of who we are, what we have delivered in 2016 and what we are trying to achieve in future. We look forward to producing more reports of this kind in the future to draw together all IFFO’s important work.”
Read the full report here (available in three languages):
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Please contact: Georgie Harris, Communications Manager
T: +44 (0) 2030 539 195
Notes for Editors
- IFFO represents the marine ingredients industry worldwide. IFFO’s members reside in more than 50 countries, account for over 50% of world production and 75% of the fishmeal and fish oil traded worldwide. Approximately 5 million tonnes of fishmeal are produced each year globally, together with 1 million tonnes of fish oil. IFFO’s headquarters are located in London in the United Kingdom and it also has offices in Lima, Peru, and in Beijing, China. IFFO is an accredited Observer to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). More information at www.iffo.net
- Fishmeal is a natural, balanced, highly nutritious feed ingredient used in diets for farmed fish and crustaceans and as a high protein supplement in nutritionally demanding periods in the life cycle of pigs and poultry, as well as in pet food.
- Fish oil is the major natural source (97%) of the healthy long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, EPA and DHA. Most fish oil is used in feeds for farmed fish and there is an expanding market for fish oil for human nutritional supplements and functional foods.