India increased sales of shrimp to the U.S. in September, but saw a reduction in its export value from the Chinese market during the month, according to the latest data released by India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The South Asian nation exported shrimp worth USD 448.9 million (EUR 382 million) in September, down 1.3 percent year-on-year, but surging 20.5 percent from August.
The U.S. remained the top buyer of shrimp from India in terms of value, with sales going up by nearly 4 percent year-on-year to USD 248.5 million (EUR 211.5 million) in September.
Meanwhile, sales to China, another important market for Indian shrimp, continued the downward trend seen earlier this year. China became the second-largest destination in the month by value, purchasing shrimp worth USD 50.2 million (EUR 42.7 million), falling 30.6 percent compared to a year ago.
As with China, India's shrimp exports to Japan – the third-largest buyer – shrank 16 percent year-on-year to USD 29.2 million (EUR 24.8 million) in the month.
Vietnam was the fourth-largest buyer of shrimp from India by value in September, with sales jumping 81.5 percent year-on-year to USD 21.2 million (EUR 18 million).
Between January and September, India exported shrimp worth USD 3.04 billion (EUR 2.6 billion), 11.7 percent lower year-on-year. The value of the exports to Vietnam rose 3.7 percent year-on-year to USD 152.7 million (EUR 130 million) in the period, while sales to most other main markets went down.
The value of the exports to the three other leading destinations all dropped in the first nine months of this year, with USD 1.55 billion (EUR 1.32 billion) to the U.S., down 9 percent year-on-year; USD 413.9 million (EUR 352.2 million) to China, down 31.3 percent year-on-year; and USD 232.5 million (EUR 197.8 million) to Vietnam, down 1.6 percent from the same period in 2019.
Similar to the situation in Vietnam, farmers in India’s Gujarat state were about to finish their main crop in October, with little stocking for the second crop, Naeem Banglawala, a shrimp farmer operating organic shrimp farms on 100 hectares in Gujarat state and director of a company supplying raw material to processors and exporters, told SeafoodSource earlier this month.
“I feel we have very little material left to supply and processors may struggle to get raw material in timely manner,” he said, adding that some companies are not taking further orders before confirming raw material availability at farms.
Photo courtesy of Phensri Ngamsommitr/Shutterstock
