Danish fishmeal and fish oil production

Denmark has on average produced 183,5 mt of fishmeal per year since 2015, which makes Denmark the biggest producer of fishmeal in Europe before 2019. After 2019, Norway took the lead. In the context of the EU, Denmark is by far the biggest producer with Spain, who in 2020 produced 45,2 mt of fishmeal, as it’s the nearest competitor.

The Danish production of fishmeal generates an export value of ~495 million €. The total Danish export is larger because fishmeal is a globally traded commodity, with a large amount of the trading based in Denmark, making Denmark the third-largest exporter of fishmeal in the world.

The fishing for short-lived species such as sandeel, Norway pout and sprat constitute a significant part of the Danish fishery, and Denmark has a very large part of the EU’s combined quotas on the most important protein fish. The combined quotas represent an average value of landing of more than 134 million €.

In addition, the factories annually receive between 100,000-160,000 tonnes of trimmings from the human consumption industry.

Fishmeal and fish oil are important marine ingredients and the production of fishmeal and fish oil forms the basis for Denmark as one of the world’s leading exporters of fish feed and know-how in the aquaculture sector. The production of fishmeal and fish oil is a crucial condition for the continued development of aquaculture.

Find the newest factsheet about the Danish production from April 2022 here (in English) or here (in Danish).