Fish farms to produce two-thirds of global supply by 2030, new report states

Nevin Barich

PAKISTAN , April 11, 2014 (Business Recorder) – Aquaculture (fish farming) will provide close to two-third of global food fish consumption by 2030, as catches from wild capture fisheries level off and demand from an emerging global middle class, especially in China, substantially increases. These are among the key findings of "Fish to 2030: Prospects for Fisheries and Aquaculture", a collaboration between the World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), released today.

The report highlights the extent of global trade in seafood which tends to flow heavily from developing to developed countries. According to FAO, at present 38 percent of all fish produced in the world is exported and in value terms, over two-third of fishery exports by developing countries is directed to developed countries. The "Fish to 2030" report finds that a major and growing market for fish is coming from China which is projected to account for 38 percent of global consumption of food fish by 2030. China and many other nations are increasing their investments in aquaculture to help meet this growing demand.

Asia--including South Asia, South-East Asia, China and Japan--is projected to make up 70 percent of global fish consumption by 2030. Sub-Saharan Africa, on the other hand, is expected to see a per capita fish consumption decline of one percent per year from 2010 to 2030 but, due to rapid population growth of 2.3 percent in the same period, the region's total fish consumption will grow by 30 percent overall. The report predicts that 62 percent of food fish will come from aquaculture by 2030 with the fastest supply growth likely to come from tilapia, carp, and catfish. Global tilapia production is expected to almost double from 4.3 million tons to 7.3 million tons a year between 2010 and 2030.

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