March 14, 2006

 

US aquaculture production seen higher in 2006
 

 

US seafood production is seen to rise in 2006 along with both exports and imports, according to the USDA in an Electronic Outlook Report dated Mar 9. GDP growth and higher disposable income will lift up overall demand for aquaculture products, while a weaker US dollar is expected to make US exports more competitive.

 

Higher demand for an alternative protein products such as seafood, as bird flu outbreaks hit at poultry product demand worldwide, is seen to cause seafood prices to rise in the US and provide an incentive for more production. Strong farm-level prices for a number of aquaculture products in 2005 will also help growth in this area, the USDA added.

 

According to the agency, aquaculture imports will also rise as a percentage of total domestic seafood supply.

 

For 2005, lower domestic landings of a number of aquaculture species in the Gulf region heavily hit by hurricanes, caused seafood imports to rise.

 

US tilapia imports in that year surged to over 297 million pounds, up 19 percent from 2004 and 233 percent higher than in 2000. All import growth came from higher shipments of filleted products, with imports of whole fish falling slightly from the previous year, the USDA said.

 

In fact, tilapia imports have grown by 208 million pounds since 2000, with 66 percent of that increase coming from higher imports of frozen filleted products.

 

This came mainly from Asian producers such as China--the largest provider of both frozen whole tilapia and frozen tilapia fillets to the US--which imported 56 percent of all tilapia product imports in 2005. Its shipments of frozen tilapia fillets rose to 97 million pounds in 2005 from 35 million pounds in 2003.

 

Shrimp imports also continued to edge up in volume at 1.2 billion pounds in 2005, up 2 percent from 2004, the USDA said. However, even with the increase in volume, the value of imported shrimp products declined 1 percent as average prices fell, the USDA said.

 

For the second consecutive year, the increase in total shrimp imports was due chiefly to larger shipments of processed shrimp products. A significant trend was also seen last year as Indonesia became a major supplier of shrimp while imports from China declined.

 

Between 2003 and 2005, Indonesian shrimp imports grew from less than 50 million pounds to over 116 million. This is partially the result of a more stable business environment and the fact that major shrimp farming areas of Indonesia were not damaged by the December 2004 Asian tsunami.

 

The USDA also shared that prices for aquaculture feed grains--after falling considerably in 2005--are expected to be higher for corn, but lower for soy in 2006. While continued low prices will help many aquaculture producers that use these products in their feeds, low grain prices will reduce feed prices for livestock and poultry producers. 

 

For the full USDA report, click here.