SEAFOODNEWS.COM by John Sackton — Sept 11, 2014 — Shrimp is pouring into the US market. US customs import figures for shrimp of all types through July show the highest volume on record, with total quantity reaching 657.2 million lbs.
This is 12.8% higher than the volume through July last year, and 6.5% above the long term average since 2006, which is around 617 million lbs.
Chart: Urner Barry Shrimp Insider Report
Production reports have been mixed, with India, Ecuador, Indonesia and Vietnam all reporting increases, and Thailand and Mexico still far below their production levels of a few years ago.
The reason for more shrimp coming into the US could either be because it is a more attractive market compared to other major importing areas, or because total global production has increased and the EU and Japan are seeing higher shrimp imports as well.
Japan’s shrimp volumes suggest that it is the second case, of greater global production, that is driving imports.
Japan’s shrimp import volume through June is 25.5% below their totals from 2013, which represents a shortfall of 43 million pounds, or 19,500 metric tons, compared to the prior year.
However, US imports have increased by 74 million pounds (33,500 metric tons.) This means that looking at Japan and the US alone, the shortfall in Japan has more than been made up with shipments to the US.
When we look at Europe, or specifically the European Union, we also see an increase of around 10,255 metric tons for the period January through May in 2014, compared to 2013.
Chart: Eurostat, Urner Barry
Although the numbers and the months of statistics are not exactly comparable, it appears that for the three largest shrimp importing markets, the US, Europe, and Japan, that total shipments are running 20,000 to 25,000 tons ahead of last year, and that is mostly based on increases in exports from India and Ecuador.
This suggests that global shrimp production is indeed growing, and that the increase in volumes we are seeing in the US is not simply due to our market and pricing, but is also due to the fact that more shrimp is available.
This conclusion bears out our analysis of imports from Ecuador (Ecuador shrimp production and sales surging, up 31% in July vs. year ago – August 20th), where Ecuador sent record levels of shrimp to the US in July, but at the same time also increased their sales to other markets as well.
This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.