The Muscle Mag
The challenging situation originally began in 2022 when crude oil production decreased, causing prices to rise. This led many refiners and concentrators to rely on existing stocks instead of purchasing new oil in hopes of a better season in 2023. However, in June of this year, the first fishing season in the North Central region of Peru was abruptly cancelled due to a high number of juveniles.
The situation was worsened by an El Niño event, warming waters and moving adult anchovy biomass away from accessible fishing areas. Despite doubts about a second fishing season in 2023, in October PRODUCE set a quota of 1.6 million metric tons of anchovy. By December, over 60% of the quota was caught, but the anchovy had low oil yields, resulting in less EPA and DHA oil production.
While the omega-3 industry offers alternatives like salmon oil, tuna oil, and algae, these sources cannot fully replace the anchovy oil supply. Efforts to increase production from these sources will take time and will not immediately resolve the current situation. In the long term, oils with stable production and pricing will be attractive to manage the risks associated with fish oil availability.
Global concerns arose regarding the release of Fukushima wastewater in August, prompting China to ban seafood imports from Japan. However, GOED does not believe this poses a contamination risk to omega-3 oils. In the US, GOED is monitoring Class Action Lawsuits regarding the labeling of omega-3 products.
Looking ahead to 2024, while short-term supply issues persist, the long-term outlook for omega-3s remains strong. New sources of EPA and DHA are being developed, and continued consumer demand and scientific research support the importance of omega-3s as a key supplement category globally.
