NOAA’s shrimp import figures for October 2021 show India reclaiming its position of dominance in the U.S. market.
India exported 80.8 million pounds, or 36,640 metric tons (MT), of shrimp to the U.S. in October, up from 72.2 million pounds of shrimp (32,738 MT) in September 2021 and 66.4 million pounds (30,109 MT) in October 2020. Between January and October 2021, India cumulatively shipped 615.9 million pounds (279,364 MT), which has already surpassed India’s annual total in 2020 of 599.6 million pounds (271,728 MT).
Indonesia leapfrogged past Ecuador to claim second place in shrimp exports to the U.S. in October, with 37.2 million pounds (16,867 MT), up from 25.5 million pounds (11,561 MT) in September 2021 and 32.1 million pounds (14,539 MT) in October 2020. Indonesia exported 315.1 million pounds (142,907 MT) of shrimp to the U.S. between January and October 2021, up from 294.6 million pounds (133,604 MT) over the same period in 2020.
Ecuador’s U.S. shrimp exports rose year-over-year to 28.1 million pounds (12,734 MT) in October 2021, from 27.6 million pounds (12,534 MT) in October 2020. However, the total was down from the 30 million pounds (13,602 MT) it exported in September 2021. It already surpassed its 2020 total of 277.4 million pounds (125,818 MT), having achieved 332.6 million pounds (150,858 MT) of shrimp exports to the U.S. between January and October 2021.
Vietnam exported the fourth-most amount shrimp to the U.S. in October, hitting 18.4 million pounds (8,325 MT), up from 16.8 million pounds (7,600 MT) in October 2020 and 17.7 million pounds (8,031 MT) to the U.S. in September 2021. It also has surpassed its 2020 U.S. export total of 143.9 million pounds (65,278 MT), reaching 153.6 million pounds through October 2021.
Thailand sent 9.1 million pounds (4,106 MT) of shrimp to the U.S. in October 2021, down from 9.3 million pounds (4,207 MT) in October 2020, but up from 6.7 million pounds (3,019 MT) in September 2021.
Mexico’s shrimp shipments to the U.S. in October totaled 5.1 million pounds (2,295 MT), down 10.1 million pounds (4,577 MT) from October 2020 but up from its September 2021 figure of 2.8 million pounds (1,279 MT).
Argentina’s October 2021 U.S. shrimp exports jumped to 4.5 million pounds (2,021 MT), up from 3.7 million pounds (1,697 MT) in October 2020 and 2.7 million pounds (1,200 MT) in September 2021.
In sum, U.S. shrimp imports totaled 188 million pounds in (85,269 MT) in October 2021, up from 173.1 million pounds (78,507 MT) in October 2020. The United States is on track to surpass its 2020 shrimp-import total of 1.6 billion pounds (726,856 MT) for the full-year 2021.
Photo courtesy of Ezume Images/Shutterstock
