The Price of Fishmeal

Another commodity rising in price -- fish food. Not the stuff you feed your goldfish, but fish meal.

“We use fish meal to feed pigs and chickens and in fish farming,” says Chris Mayer. “About 40% of all the fish we consume is farmed fish. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization said that the fish trade is ‘one of the world’s most hotly traded food commodities.’ The value of exports in 2008, the latest figures, topped $100 billion.

“Fish meal is an important commodity in the food chain. It’s one of the world’s most internationally traded commodities. The average ton of fish meal travels 3,000 miles to reach its end market.

“Today, we see the effects of what can happen to that fragile fish stock supply. We’ve got fish meal prices hitting all-time highs, as the earthquake that hit Chile wiped out the world’s second largest exporter of this commodity.” Agora Financial