After a difficult period of low prices shocked the global shrimp-farming industry in 2024, Ecuadorian shrimp farmers have adjusted, and the sector has stabilized, according to Glunashrimp Founder Gabriel Luna.
“Ecuadorian shrimp farmers – as have the other farmers around the world – have had to adjust to be able to produce with those low prices. [2024 was] a very troublesome year for the farmers because they were trying to adapt to these new prices,” Luna said at the Global Seafood Market Conference in Palm Desert, California, U.S.A., on 21 January.
Ecuador’s shrimp production has skyrocketed in recent years, with the sector experiencing double-digit growth from 2020 through 2023. However, lower prices finally stymied that growth, with 2024’s output of 2.7 billion pounds roughly flat from 2023’s output.
That’s not a sign that the industry is maxed out, though, according to Luna.
“Having a lower price means that there is lower demand, so you are adjusting to it,” Luna said. “In order to be more efficient, they have to change their protocols, and that change requires testing. That’s what happened in the last 18 months.”
“Yes, there are some people who failed in their readjustment or their search for these new protocols of farming,” Luna continued. “But, then we have a bunch of successful cases of people who had great results and, toward the end of the year, even saw an increase in prices, which generates motivation.”
Given those success stories and the experience the sector gained over the last 18 months, Luna said he doesn’t expect ...