January 10, 2014    

 

 

In November, US shrimp imports showed an unsurprising but large drop in shrimp imports from Thailand and most other nations, but remarkably steady figures from China, Vietnam and Indonesia, US trade statistics numbers revealed.

 

Thailand's shrimp exports to US fell 33.6%, from 12,526 tonnes in November of 2012 to 8,380 tonnes this year attributable to the early mortality syndrome (EMS), which the country was unsuccessful at warding off in 2013.

 

Yet in Vietnam and China - two countries known to have struggled with the disease early on in the EMS crisis - imports were actually up.

 

Vietnam's exports increased the most of any other US supplying nation. In fact, shrimp exports to the US increased 26.5%, from 4,990 tonnes last year to 6,311 tonnes this year. In China, exports were up 4.3%, from 2,481 tonnes last year to 2,589 tonnes this year.

 

Indonesia shrimp exports to the US were steady at 7,296 tonnes, up 4% from last year. India, the second largest shrimp supplier to the US, saw its US exports decline 12%, from 8,552 tonnes last year to 7,524 tonnes this year. Although it managed to remain in second place, its efforts to ramp up production to account for the global deficit were hindered by its apparent detection of EMS late last year.

 

Ecuador is known to have escaped the perils of EMS this year, but due to demand in Asia - in China in particular - due to the EMS crisis there, its emphasis on US exports went way down, and total US exports in November plummeted 23% from 5,021 tonnes last year to 3,851 tonnes this year.

 

The biggest drop in exports came from Malaysia, whose exports plummeted 73%, from 2,752 tonnes last year to 719 tonnes this year.

 

Mexico, which also struggled with EMS, saw US exports fall by 20%, from 2,946 tonnes last year to 2,354 tonnes this year.

 

One outlier was Peru. Although not a major US supplier, it was the only other exporter of weight - besides China, Vietnam and Indonesia — to increase exports, which went up 23%, from 558 tonnes last year to 687 tonnes this year.

 

Meanwhile, Thailand still managed to maintain its dominance as the top US shrimp supplier; further underlining just how dependent the US is on Thailand for shrimp, under-performing or not. The country's 8,380 tonnes export to the US outdoes all other suppliers, with India the next runner up at 7,524 tonnes. Although this is a drop for India, it too managed to maintain its second place status in November of this year, which is the same as its place last year.

 

In third place was Indonesia, with 7,296 tonnes of US exports; then Vietnam at 6,311 tonnes; Ecuador at 3,851 tonnes, China at 2,589 tonnes, Mexico at 2,354 tonnes and Honduras at 1,142 tonnes. Other sources of imports were negligible.