India exported 622.8 million pounds (282,584 metric tons) of shrimp to the United States in 2019, crushing its own annual record of 546.9 million pounds, or 248,127 metric tons (MT), set in 2018.
U.S. shrimp import totals for the month of December, released 5 February by NOAA’s Office of Science and Technology, show India capped off its record-setting year with a very strong month, exporting 52.3 million pounds (23,747 MT), up 7.6 percent from its December 2018 total of 48.3 million pounds (21,931 MT).
In doing so, India topped the tables in U.S. shrimp exports for the eighth consecutive year. India’s year-end total represents a 5 percent year-over-year increase in market share. Second-place Indonesia, which exported 293.5 million pounds (133,165 MT) of shrimp to the U.S. in 2019, registered just 0.1 percent growth in market share for 2019, showing India is increasing the gap between itself and its primary competition for the U.S. market. Despite a strong December, in which it exported 28.8 million pounds (13,054 MT) of shrimp to the U.S. – up 14.4 percent year-over-year – Indonesia struggled to keep pace with India.
Ecuador rounded out the top three U.S. shrimp suppliers in December 2019, bringing in 15.1 million pounds (6,846 MT), and 182.8 million pounds (82,955 MT) in 2019. Ecuador gained 1 percent of market share in 2019.
For December, Indian shrimp represented 38.6 percent of all U.S. shrimp imports, while Indonesian shrimp accounted for 21.2 percent of the market, and Ecuadorian shrimp represent 11.1 percent of global shrimp exports to the U.S.
Rounding out the top 10 in 2019 shrimp exports to the U.S. in 2019 were Vietnam, China, Thailand, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, and Honduras.
After months of declines, the spigot on Chinese shrimp exports is closing in the United States, as China recorded just 3.9 million pounds (1,774 MT) of exports in December, down markedly from the 13.2 million pounds (5,980 MT) it brought in a year prior. China dropped 4.4. percent of the U.S. shrimp export market-share with a year-end total of 44.1 million pounds (20,032 MT), down from 112 million pounds (50,814 MT) in 2018.
Other losers in the U.S. market in 2019 were Thailand, losing 1.1 percent of the market; Honduras, losing 0.7 percent, and Peru, which gave up 0.5 percent of the market.
Mexico gained 0.7 percent of the U.S. shrimp market, and Vietnam and Argentina each gained 0.3 percent.
Saudi Arabia continued its recent surge in December, exporting 4.7 million pounds (2,147 MT) of shrimp to the U.S.
Photo courtesy of Archer Dec24/Shutterstock
