India has exported more than 198,350 metric tons, or more than 437 million pounds of shrimp to the U.S. thus far in 2019, putting it on pace to surpass its record shrimp export total from last year.
India exported 546.9 million pounds, or 248,127 MT, of shrimp to the United States in 2018. With the South Asian country averaging between 27,000 and 30,000 metric tons (MT) of shrimp exports to the U.S. monthly, India will very likely hit a new all-time high for shrimp exports to the U.S. in a calendar year.
NOAA’s Office of Science and Technology’s latest import update shows the U.S. received 27,645 MT, or 60.9 million pounds, of shrimp from India in September, up 4.4 percent from 24,818 MT (54.7 million pounds) in September 2018.
Between January and September 2018, India had reached 386.8 million pounds of U.S. exports, but its 2019 total thus far exceeds that figure by 50.3 million pounds, up by 4.6 percent. Indian shrimp now accounts for more than 40 percent of all shrimp imported into the United States.
India’s gains have come at the expense of China, which has seen its market share drop to 3.2 percent of the overall U.S. import market, down 4.1 percent. China’s September import total crashed from 6,278 MT (13.8 million pounds) to 1,856 MT (4.1 million pounds).
Honduras and Peru also saw their September shrimp exports to the U.S. crater, with Honduras exporting just 308 MT, down from 1,128 MT, and Peru sending 381 MT, down from 932 MT in September 2018.
Other major shrimp importers, including Indonesia, Ecuador, Vietnam, Thailand, Mexico, and Argentina, logged fairly similar import totals in September 2019 compared to 2018. Indonesia exported 10,604 MT in September 2019, up from 10,037 MT in the same month a year prior. Ecuador exported 6,801 MT of shrimp in September, down from 6,966 MT a year before. Vietnam raised its total from 6,600 MT in September 2018 to 7,143 MT this September. Thailand’s total fell by more than a million pounds from 4,154 MT in September 2018 to 3,691 MT this September. Mexico grew its exports from 1,105 MT in September 2018 to 1,911 MT this September, and Argentina also registered a gain, from 981 MT in September 2018 to 1,138 MT in September 2019.
Photo courtesy of P. Chang/Shutterstock
