Fish consumption in Latin America will increase by 33% by 2030, according to the FAO

Chef Xavier Lebeau presents a dish made from fish and vegetables at the Saint Pierre de Chaillot school in Paris. (Photo AP / Francois Mori, file)

The FAO predicts that fish consumption will increase by 33% by 2030 in Latin America and the Caribbean, a region that is a fish power but has The world's lowest consumption of fish, only behind Oceania, informed the UN agency today.

In the report "The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018" presented on Monday, FAO pointed out that Latin America is a net exporter of fish and a major aquaculture producer, but only 9.8 kilos of fish are consumed per person per year.

In 2015, the region consumed 6.2 million tonnes of fish, less said the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), whose regional headquarters is in Santiago, Chile.

By 2030, FAO expects total consumption to be lower than in other parts of the world. fish is increasing in all regions, particularly with increases in Africa (37%), Latin America (33%), Oceania (28%) and Asia (20%).

Despite this, the report indicates that in 2030 about 71% of fish available Human consumption (184 million tonnes) will be consumed in Asian countries, while the lowest quantities will be consumed in Latin America and Oceania.

FAO also forecasts that fish production (fisheries and aquaculture) will increase by 24% from 12.9 million tonnes to 16 million tonnes, from 2.9% to 2030.

According to the report, Latin America and the Caribbean continues to be a net exporter of fish, mainly shrimp, tuna, salmon and flour. In Ecuador, Chile and Peru, exports increased in 2016 and 2017 due to higher production and rebound in tuna prices, according to FAO

. Projected fish exports from the region will increase by 29% from 3.9 million tonnes in 2016 to 5.1 million tonnes

Imports, meanwhile, will increase by 53% from , 3 million tonnes in 2016 to 3.5 million tonnes in 2030.

Total world marine catches were 79.3 million tonnes in 2016, representing a of 2 million tonnes compared to 81.2 million tonnes in 2015, According to document

Anchovy catches of Peru and Chile, often important but very variable due to the influence of the El Niño climate phenomenon, accounted for 1.1 million tonnes of this decrease. EFE