Disease issues lower shrimp supplies from Asia
Poor weather conditions, disease problems, unattractive prices and slow demand in the US market have bedeviled the shrimp sector in most of the producing countries in Asia, resulting in lower or stagnant supply growth this year, according to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation.
In China disease issues resulted in lower production of farmed shrimp, FAO said.
Similarly, disease outbreaks (white spot syndrome, terocytozoon hepatopenaei, white feces and running mortality syndromes), along with flooding, affected production in the southern Indian states of Andhra and Tamil Nadu.
"Overall supply in India has been balanced by farmers significantly shifting from black tiger to vannamei around the southeastern belt of India, namely Gujarat, Odissa and West Bengal. Indian farmers continued to produce more large sizes suitable for 13/15–21/25 shell-on products", FAO said.
Indonesian shrimp stocks were also affected by diseases, and farmers had to move to new areas.
Based on sales of shrimp feed, production this year was forecast to be the same as 2015, or close to 600,000 tonnes.
Lower harvests are expected in Vietnam this year as farming of vannamei and black tiger shrimp in the Mekong Delta, the largest farming area in the country, was likewise affected by diseases and draught in early 2016.
The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers said the farming area for black tiger shrimp expanded this year, but production volume remained unchanged from 2015.
A resurgent Thailand was the only country to have come unscathed. Slow but steady rise in vannamei production was observed and this year's production is likely to reach 300,000 tonnes, FAO said.
Exports
The top five shrimp exporters as of the first half of 2016 remained the same as in 2015. These are Ecuador, India, Thailand, Indonesia and China, in that order.
Ecuador and India increased exports during that period by 7.6% and 10.8% to 180,000 and 179,000 tonnes, respectively. Ecuador's top three export destinations during the reporting period were Vietnam (80,000 tonnes), the EU (44,000 tonnes) and the US (35,000 tonnes).
Thailand regained its market share and ranked third in global shrimp exports. Supplies increased by 33% in the first half against the same period last year to 94,000 tonnes. Its main markets in terms of volume were the US, Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Canada.
Indonesian shrimp exports increased 7% to 80,000 tonnes in January–May 2016, with its top five markets being the US, Japan, the EU, Malaysia and Vietnam. Exports might have breached 90,000 tonnes during the first half.
Chinese shrimp exports rose 2.3% to 82,000 tonnes during the reporting period. Exports to the US, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan increased, but those to Japan declined marginally.
Imports
Imports during the January–June period in the single largest shrimp market, the US, declined by 1.2% compared with the same period last year, but increased in Japan (+6.8% to 92,700 tonnes), the EU (+17.8%), Russian Federation, (+44%), Australia (+4%) and South Africa (+15%).
Shrimp imports also increased in East Asia and the Near East markets, largely supplied by Asia as well as Ecuador.
Demand and price structures observed in the international shrimp market during the first quarter of 2016 persisted through June.
Supplies into the US declined from the top three sources, Indonesia, Ecuador and India. However, there was recovery in supplies from Thailand during the reporting period. Demand for black tiger shrimp was also healthy during this period leading to higher supplies from Bangladesh.
According to official data in China, the market imported 55,100 tonnes of shrimp during January - June this year, which is nearly 64% higher than the same period last year. The top five suppliers were Argentina (13,600 tonnes), Canada (10,100 tonnes), Ecuador (9,300 tonnes) Thailand (6,400 tonnes) and India (3,700 tonnes).
The other Asian markets that bought more shrimp during January–June period were South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.
