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Energy demand will outpace metals demand in China as a labour shortage begins to set in, analysts at BCA Research have said.

The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2012 reveals that the sector produced a record 128 million tonnes of fish for human food - an average of 18.4 kg per person - providing more than 4.3 billion people with about 15 percent of their animal protein intake. Fisheries and aquaculture are also a source of income for 55 million people."Fisheries and aquaculture play a vital role in the global, national and rural economy," said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva. "The livelihoods of 12 percent of the world's population depend directly or indirectly on them. Fisheries and aquaculture give an important contribution to food security and nutrition. They are the primary source of protein for 17 percent of the world's population and nearly a quarter in low-income food-deficit countries."Árni M. Mathiesen, head of FAO's Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, said: "Fisheries and aquaculture are making a vital contribution to global food security and economic growth. However, the sector faces an array of problems, including poor governance, weak fisheries management regimes, conflicts over the use of natural resources, the persistent use of poor fishery and aquaculture practices. And it is further undermined by a failure to incorporate the priorities and rights of small-scale fishing communities and the injustices relating to gender discrimination and child labour."Boosting governanceFAO is urging governments to make every effort to ensure sustainable fisheries around the world. The report notes that many of the marine fish stocks monitored by FAO remain under great pressure.

BHP Billiton, the Anglo-Australian mining group, yesterday reported better-than-expected half-year results but flagged concerns about its growth prospects as governments around the world looked to unwind stimulus measures.Marius Kloppers , chief executive, said many economies, notably the US, were still dependant on government stimulus.He said such measures had helped drive recovery but had not addressed structural issues such as weak labour markets and excess production capacity in developed economies."A further variable will be the impact of any measures to control loan growth in China ," he said.He added that in the short term Beijing was focused on containment of asset inflation."We remain cautious about the speed and strength of the global economic recovery across the developed world."But longer term prospects were "robust" on the back of growth in China and India, Mr Kloppers said.