November 12, 2015

China raises shrimp imports by almost 20% in Jan-Jul 2015

Close to 20% more shrimps were brought into China to mitigate shortage resulting from a declining production in the country during January – July 2015, compared to the same period last year.

However, the export value of China's shrimps also fell - by 21.6% to US$979.5 million - and this affected deliveries to all markets with the exception of Spain and Canada, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (Vasep). Exports to Malaysia saw the biggest drop, by over 44%.

In addition, Chinese producers anticipated a 25-40% dip in exports from 2014's record, a key development that motivated China's hasty import of shrimps.

Chinese imports rocketed by 19.8% year-on-year during July this year, surpassing US$323 million. The biggest bulk of supply hailed from Thailand with a year-on-year growth of close to 50%, followed by Canada at 46%.

Last year, 233,000 tonnes of shrimps were exported by China, a growth of 16% from 2013, and at a total value of US$2.55 billion, Vasep revealed.