What pandemic? The US shrimp import market is back and bigger than ever, setting a new all-time high in the month of August, the latest update of seafood import data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reveals.
The US took in 82,411 metric tons of shrimp worth $701.5 million in the final month of the summer, 17% more in volume and value than the same period in 2019.
The numbers show the US shrimp import market rebuilding quickly in the wake of a near-collapse in May, after the coronavirus pandemic caused many restaurants to shutdown and led the US to import just 37,961t of shrimp – a seven-year-low -- worth $319.0m, as reported by Undercurrent News.
It's been straight up since, with the US importing 68,341t worth $574.4m last month, previously the biggest month of the year.
The recent rally lifts US imports to 460,070t worth $3.9bn for the first eight months of 2020, up 6% in volume and 8% in value compared with the corresponding period last year.
So, what happened?
Jeff Sedacca, CEO of the Sunnyvale Seafood Company, a Union City, California-based division of China's Zhanjiang Guolian Aquatic Products, said the most likely explanation is a backup in India. As a result of the pandemic, shrimp plants in the US' largest source country were not able to harvest, process or get their product on the water.
"Between March 25 and May 25, orders were ready but couldn't ship," Sedacca explained. "So when the opportunity finally came, everybody scrambled to ship."
The result was a larger volume of shrimp exports to the US from India in both July and August, as well as larger shrimp, as much of the supply sat in ponds longer than usual, he said. And Sedacca believes the trend continued in September.
Prices rising in India
As usual, India drove the train in August, leading all sources with 31,676t of shrimp worth $273.6m, a 7% increase in volume and 9% increase in value compared to August 2019. The average price was $8.64 per kilogram, up 2% from the $8.44/kilo paid in August in 2019 and 1% more than the $8.53/kilo price paid in July 2020.
It should be no surprise, given that India made up 38% of all US shrimp imports in August, that it has the most influence over the average price paid for all US shrimp imports, which was $8.51/kilo in August 2020, the same as in August 2019 and up 1% from July 2020.
Prices across all sizes of shrimp in India have continued to rise at the farm as packers in India have been forced to deal with a considerable shortage of raw material supply over the past month as a result of mass mortalities and early harvests in the country earlier in September, as reported by Undercurrent.
"Since last two weeks there [has been] a drastic drop in raw material landing and pricing going up," Sebastian Jacob, CEO at Indian firm Continental Seafoods, told Undercurrent.
"Most of the big packers are struggling to fulfill pending orders from US retailers," he added, noting that major packers sourcing from the chief farming region of Andhra Pradesh have only been receiving 35% of the raw material per day compared to their regular purchases from just a couple of weeks ago.
Based on data supplied by aquatech and farming services company Aquaconnect, farmgate prices in the main farming state of Andhra Pradesh for large 30 pieces-per-kilogram vannamei shrimp rose from INR 440 to INR 455 ($6.19) in week 40, week-on-week, Undercurrent reported.
Farmgate prices rose from INR 370 to INR 380 for 40-count shrimp; from INR 280 to INR 290 for 60-count; from INR 220 to INR 235 for 80-count; and from INR 200 to INR 210 for 100-count (see below).
Notably, farmgate prices across all sizes were still down by approximately 5-10% in week 40 of 2019.
Ecuador more than doubles exports to US
Another of the big stories from August is Ecuador. It sent the US a whopping 16,482t of shrimp worth $101.4m in August 2020, up 107% in volume and 83% in value when compared to August 2019. It has now -- at least for the time being -- moved ahead of Indonesia to become the US' second-largest source of shrimp.
Undercurrent reported in July how Ecuador shrimp exporters were cozying up more to the US as a result of losing much of their market in China over COVID-19-related concerns and restrictions.
The average price paid was $6.15/kilo, making it one of the best bargains for imported vannemei. The price was 11% down from the $6.95/kilo paid in August 2019 and 2% off the $6.27/kilo paid in July.
Sources who talked to Undercurrent recently have largely blamed the price drop on a seasonal demand contraction that follows the end of summer.
But Indonesia also sent the US more shrimp in August 2020: 15,149t worth $136.8m. That's a 17% increase in volume and 29% in value.
In fact, 11 of the 20 countries that send the US the most shrimp all saw year-on-year increases in export volumes to the US in August, Undercurrent found when it reviewed the NOAA data.
Another country worth noting for its surge of shrimp exports to the US is Argentina, which sent the US 1,337t worth $15.5m in August 2020, a 28% improvement in volume and 33% improvement in value.
Multiple issues, including delays in the start of the latest season, slower processing operations due to strict lockdowns imposed by local governments, and reduced biomass have slowed Argentina's shrimp landings in recent months, as reported by Undercurrent. Landings between January and mid-September totaled 118,302t, down about 27% compared to the first nine months of last year and 40% compared to 2018.
China continues downward slide
One country that continues to see its shrimp exports to the US diminished, however, is China. The People's Republic sent the US just 906t of shrimp worth $4.8m in August 2020, down 58% in volume and 57% in value from August 2019.
The dropoff is clearly a result of the ongoing trade war between China and president Donald Trump, which is now more than two years old and forces US importers to pay hefty tariffs on Chinese shrimp, normally the cheapest shrimp available.
The price of Chinese shrimp was up in August, however, at $5.25/kilo compared to its price in August 2019 of $5.04.
October 06, 2020 at 11:58PM
https://ift.tt/33BBFJ6
August was US' highest shrimp import month ever - Undercurrent News
https://ift.tt/3eNRKhS
shrimp
No comments:
Post a Comment