April 11, 2007

China's shrimp export down sharply

China's shrimp export in the first two months of the year was down 42.0 percent on tonnage and 35.8 percent by value, according to figures released by the General Administration of Customs.

Shrimp export for February was 720 tonnes valued at US$4.75 million.

Exports for 2005 was 13.6 percent below that of 2004 while value declined almost 15 percent.

For 2006, there were 11 months when tonnage saw a more-than-30 percent decline on-year, with December shrimp exports falling 59.2 percent below that of the same month in 2005.

Increasingly strict requirements for seafood are believed to be the reason for the sharp decline.