Marine Ingredients Denmark urges the EU to include the fishmeal and fish oil sector in its new Fund to secure strategic strength and green transition
Industry Demands Inclusion in New European Fund
Marine Ingredients Denmark (MID), the industry organisation for Danish fishmeal and fish oil producers, has welcomed the proposal for the new European Fund but is demanding that the fund’s scope be broadened.
The organisation stresses that the entire “full blue value chain,” including the fishmeal and fish oil processing sector, must be recognised and included as an integrated part of the new Fund.
Denmark is the EU’s largest producer of these valuable marine products, based on protein-rich pelagic species like sprat, sandeel, and blue whiting, as well as offcuts from the consumer fish industry, which accounts for around 25% of the raw material.
The industry buys fish for approximately 1.2 billion DKK (€156 million / £144 million / $192 million) annually from Danish and foreign vessels. It exports products worth around 6 billion DKK (€780 million / £720 million / $960 million) globally, which represents over 20% of total Danish fish product exports.
Securing Strategic EU Food Sovereignty
MID argues that the fund’s proposal is positive for recognising the importance of sustainability, competitiveness, and food security. However, they warn that production in Europe, specifically their sector, contributes to EU’s food sovereignty and minimises dependence on third-country suppliers.
This represents a strategic strength that “should be recognised and supported, especially in a geopolitical context characterised by increasing supply uncertainty”.
The organisation highlights that their products, used primarily as feed in aquaculture, result in indirect human consumption through aquaculture production, and should therefore be included in the support-eligible group under Article 35, stk. 11, on an equal footing with direct food producers.
Supporting Climate Goals and Agricultural Reform
MID supports linking the Fund proposal to the Green Industry Deal, as reducing energy costs is key to accelerating the green transition. The sector is working on new, climate-efficient solutions to reduce CO2 emissions, but notes that implementation requires significant and costly investments.
Additionally, the organisation urges that the fund’s future design should support a necessary reform of agricultural subsidies, which should better promote sustainable and less pesticide-intensive cultivation methods.
MID assesses that this development would be of decisive importance for the fishing sector and the marine environment, by reducing the discharge of nutrients and pesticides into coastal waters, thereby strengthening the fund’s overall effect through environmental synergy.
