Overview

“Although 2023 had its challenges with geopolitics, climate conditions and inflation, we also saw significant movement in key strategic developments within the industry. The valuable and unique contribution of marine ingredients is well recognized and there is increased focus on their strategic application, with precision nutrition, and increasing production through by-products. IFFO helped drive these discussions in our events and other industry discussions, publishing our latest data on by-products and continuing to communicate how marine ingredients are strategically used. Our industry is also progressing beyond responsibly sourced materials to now understanding the broader life cycle assessment (LCA) of marine ingredients. IFFO continues to contribute to the Global Feed LCA Institute’s (GFLI) Data-In-Project to grow our knowledge in this critical area, and this is a great example of our unique role in representing and progressing our industry”.

Petter Martin Johannessen, IFFO Director General

Contents:

Supporting our members

With a membership spanning back over 60 years, IFFO continues to provide a unique range of services and benefits for marine ingredient producers and their related businesses. With 249 members in total, spanning 40 countries, IFFO membership is growing with 26 new Non-Producer and 3 Producer members joining in 2023. This success is echoed by the latest members survey, with 95% of members rating IFFO’s services as either excellent or good. The IFFO team visited members in China, Chile, Norway, Denmark, Indonesia, Peru, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Thailand, and Turkey.

Beyond the events and communications support, IFFO supports members through a wide range of projects and services, some of which are highlighted in the following:

Click on the icons below to explore more:

Stakeholder Engagement: Events & Webinars 

In-person events:

IFFO organised 2 webinars and 5 in-person events, most notably the record-breaking Members Meeting held in Madrid, the Annual Conference in Cape Town, and the China Workshop held in Guangzhou city. With 220 members attending the Madrid Members Meeting and 395 delegates attending our Cape Town Annual Conference from 39 countries, these events proved once again to be the hub of the industry.

Discussions at these events focused on the evolving role of marine ingredients in feed and human nutrition, with a precision nutrition approach in feed taking into consideration the nutritional and environmental factors of ingredients. The challenges facing a growing demand for the long chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA were a focal point of discussions, with market intelligence being the key to understanding this. This is where the Market Forum’s provided an unparalleled global outlook from across our industry, covering both the supply and demand of marine ingredients.

As part of our mission in gathering industry experts to drive innovative discussions, two technical workshops were held in 2023. The first workshop, hosted in Stirling (Scotland), explored a range of critical questions around omega-3 futures in aquafeeds. Experts debated the existing stocks of omega-3 long chain fatty acids EPA and DHA, how they are being used and valued and what new resources are under development. The nutritional requirements for salmon, marine fish and shrimp were each explored, looking at when omega-3 are key to health and growth, and then compared with the requirements for these nutrients in human diets.

Looking at emerging new sources of marine ingredients, a second workshop focused on the potential of by-products, held in Cape Town (South Africa). This workshop explored new innovative ways to capture these valuable ingredients and reduce waste, with examples from Norway, Namibia and Morocco presented, each showcasing the range of opportunities available to the industry.

The last event of 2023 was the 6^th China Marine Ingredients workshop, held in Guangzhou, China. This workshop explored the value points and global market dynamics of marine ingredients from both a Chinese and global perspective. The event gathered 69 representatives of the industry, mostly based in China.

Webinars

IFFO’s InFocus series continued with two webinars, the first focusing again on by-products with Dr Wesley Malcorps from the University of Stirling, and Francisco Aldon, CEO of MarinTrust, looking at their potential as key sustainable ingredients and what systems exist to trace them. The second webinar provided an update on several ongoing projects in Southeast Asia, featuring Dave Martin, Programme Director at Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP).

Representing the industry

Every year, IFFO represents the industry at events across the world, click on the icon below to view the events that the IFFO team presented at in 2023:

Click on the icon below to view the events that the IFFO team presented at in 2023

Stakeholder Engagement: Outreach

IFFO grows out of a fishmeal and fish oil industry need for collaboration, information and shared problem solving. Beyond IFFO’s efforts to facilitate cooperation and address shared commercial problems within the membership, IFFO constantly liaises with academia, regulatory bodies, governments, international organisations and industry press. IFFO provides a reference point for marine ingredients with the IFFO website, which features videos of experts, while also engaging stakeholders directly on social media via LinkedIn and WeChat, Bilibili and Weibo in China.

Press engagement

IFFO responded proactively to all media and NGO requests, while driving discussions on marine ingredients through 15 press releases, 30 opinion, 4 videos with international experts, and blog articles resulting in 171 pieces of global press coverage.

Finance

Auditors’ opinion (Hillier Hopkins LLP – Chartered Accountants & Statutory Auditor): We have audited the financial statements of IFFO (2012) Limited (the 'Company') for the year ended 31 December 2023, which comprise the Statement of income and retained earnings, the Balance sheet, the Statement of changes in equity and the related notes, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). 

In our opinion the financial statements: Give a true and fair view of the state of the Company's affairs as at 31 December 2023 and of its loss for the year that ended; have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Click on the icon below to view the full accounts:

Governance

The Board of Directors of IFFO is made up of Directors from Producer members nominated by either individual countries or regions. Each director serves a 2-year term and is then eligible for re-election. Meetings are held at least twice a year, along with more regular meetings for smaller Liaison groups to focus on specific areas.

President: Egil Magne Haugstad

Egil Magne Haugstad is the CEO of Pelagia AS and current President of IFFO.

Click on the icon below to view the whole IFFO Board: