October 27, 2010

Strong growth in Columbia's tuna and tilapia exports to US

Between January and August 2010, Columbia's sales of tuna and tilapia to the US totalled US$31.6 million, which is 155% more than during the same period last year.

According to statistics from the Agriculture Department, Colombia exported tuna to the US market for around US$17 million and tilapia for US$13.3 million.

Meanwhile, shipments of shrimp generated revenues of US$5.3 million in the first eight months of 2010. This represents a decrease of 13% over the same period in 2009 (almost US$7 million) and 76% compared with 2005, when the country exported shrimp for a value of US$22 million.

The increase in shipments of tuna resulted in Colombia ranking as the sixth largest exporter of this product to the US market. With respect to sales of fresh tilapia fillets, Honduras ranks first in exports to America, removing Ecuador and Costa Rica from the top spots this year.

During the first half of 2010, the US acquired international seafood for US$6,415 million, up 4% over the same period in 2009. Different varieties of fish accounted for around US$3,200 million, an increase of 2% compared to the first half of last year.

Meanwhile, US imported shrimp for US$1,600 million (down 1%), tuna for US$617 million (up 18%) and lobster for US$429 million (up 21%). The import figures of the country also reveal that Mexican shrimp purchases decreased by 22%, as well as Indonesian shrimp imports, by 19%. In addition, there was a decrease in purchases of tuna from the Philippines (14%).