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How to Start a Fish & Meat Wastes Trading Business with Meydan Free Zone
For every kilogram of fish processed, up to 70 percent of the raw material walks away as waste as heads, bones, skin, guts, fins, and trimmings. Similarly, for every animal slaughtered, meat wastes can account for over 50 percent of the live weight.
Although consumers rarely think of this waste, in the UAE, the fish and meat waste reaches a trader. This waste stream is the raw material for a USD 11 billion fish meal industry, a USD 28 billion animal by-products market, and a global rendering sector that converts biological refuse into feed ingredients, fertiliser, biofuels, and pharmaceutical inputs.
The global animal by-products market, covering both fish and meat waste streams, was valued at USD 28.05 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 45.43 billion by 2033 at a 5.5 percent CAGR, according to Business Research Insights¹. Within that, the fish meal segment alone stands at USD 11.0 billion in 2025, growing to USD 19.2 billion by 2032 according to Stratistics MRC².
On the meat side, the bone meal market is valued at USD 6.49 billion according to Valuates Reports³, and the rendering industry converts millions of tonnes of slaughter waste annually into tallow, blood meal, and meat and bone meal for feed, fertiliser, and oleochemical supply chains. The UAE sits at the junction: Jebel Ali Port facilitated AED 15.9 billion in food and beverage trade in 2024⁴, and ESMA's halal certification gives by-products traded through the country access to all 57 OIC member states.
For wholesale traders sourcing fish offal, meat processing waste, and rendering by-products, the UAE connects slaughter and processing markets in East Africa, South Asia, and Latin America with industrial buyers across the UAE.
Meydan Free Zone provides 100% foreign ownership, zero corporate tax on qualifying income, full profit repatriation, and a fully digital licensing process, offering a cost-efficient base for trading in one of the agricultural supply chain's most undervalued commodity segments.
Who is this for?
| Audience Segment | Profile |
|---|---|
| Fish waste and offal traders | Businesses sourcing fish heads, bones, trimmings, skin, and viscera from processing plants to supply wholesale for fish meal manufacturers, fish oil extractors, and organic fertiliser producers. |
| Meat processing waste wholesalers | Traders collecting and distributing slaughterhouse by-products including offal, blood meal, tallow, and organ residues to rendering plants, pet food manufacturers, and biogas operators. |
| Rendering by-product distributors | Operators wholesaling processed waste derivatives such as fish meal, meat and bone meal, blood meal, and animal fat to feed mills, fertiliser companies, and industrial chemical buyers across the region. |
4620.96 - Fish & Meat Wastes Trading
Under this activity, you are in the business of wholesaling waste materials and residues from fish processing and meat production. These are not finished products.
They are bulk commodity inputs sourced from slaughterhouses, fish processing plants, and rendering facilities.
The scope covers fish offal and trimmings (heads, bones, skin, fins, viscera), meat processing residues (offal, blood, fat trimmings, organ waste), and semi-processed derivatives traded as wholesale commodities (fish meal, meat and bone meal, blood meal, tallow, and fish oil in bulk unrefined form).
| Category | Scope |
|---|---|
| Fish processing waste | Fish offal, trimmings and by-products Wholesale of fish heads, bones, skin, fins, guts, and trimmings sourced from processing plants and fishing operations. These are the primary inputs for the global fish meal and fish oil industries, with 34 percent of worldwide fishmeal now produced from processing by-products. INDUSTRY TREND The IFFO reports fishmeal production rose 26 percent in 2024, with by-product sourcing growing fastest as the industry shifts toward circular economy models. |
| Meat processing waste | Meat offal and slaughter residues Trading in slaughterhouse by-products including organ meat offal, blood, fat trimmings, and tissue residues. These materials are sold to rendering plants, pet food manufacturers, and biogas facilities for conversion into usable products. UAE SUPPLY CHAIN The UAE's meat processing sector generates consistent volumes of slaughter waste; Dubai Municipality repurposes approximately 4,000 tonnes of food waste annually into organic fertiliser and animal feed. |
| Rendered by-products | Fish meal, bone meal and blood meal Wholesale of semi-processed by-products including fish meal, meat and bone meal, and blood meal traded as bulk commodity inputs for animal feed mills, aquaculture operations, fertiliser manufacturers, and pharmaceutical producers. KEY MARKETS Aquaculture is the dominant buyer, consuming 67 percent of global fishmeal production; poultry and swine feed, pet food, and organic fertiliser are the other major end markets. |
| Oils, fats and tallow | Animal fats, oils and tallow Trading in crude animal fats, fish oil, and tallow sourced from rendering and processing operations. These are sold to soap manufacturers, biofuel producers, oleochemical plants, and industrial lubricant companies. UAE TRADE CONTEXT Jebel Ali Port facilitated AED 15.9 billion in food and beverage trade in 2024; ESMA halal certification gives UAE-traded by-products access to all 57 OIC member countries. |
Certain activities are excluded from the scope of this business activity. Processing those materials into finished products, whether manufacturing fish meal, rendering tallow, or producing fertiliser, is a production activity.
Retail sale of any of these materials to individual consumers is a retail trade activity. This also excludes the wholesale of textile fibres.
Think of it as a supply chain position test. If you are the link between the processing plant and the factory, buying waste and residues in bulk and selling them onward as industrial inputs, this is your activity.
If you are the processor, the renderer, or the retailer, you belong elsewhere.
Third-Party Approval
No third-party approval is required for this business activity.
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance
This business activity is exempt from AML compliance requirements.
References
- ¹ Business Research Insights — Animal By-Product Market Trends, Growth, Forecast by 2033 — https://www.businessresearchinsights.com/market-reports/animal-by-product-market-105579
- ² Stratistics MRC — Fish Meal Market Forecasts to 2032 — cited via GII Research (2025) — https://www.giiresearch.com/report/smrc1813324-fish-meal-market-forecasts-global-analysis-by.html
- ³ Valuates Reports — Bone Meal Market, Report Size, Worth, Revenue, Growth (2025–2031) — https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-20Q9275/global-bone-meal
- ⁴ Mordor Intelligence — UAE Edible Meat Market Size & Share Analysis (2026–2031) — https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/edible-meat-market-in-the-united-arab-emirates-industry
