Saudi Arabia exported nearly 800 metric tons of shrimp to the United States in the first 11 months of 2019, according to statistics released by NOAA’s Office of Science and Technology.
The country didn’t even register on NOAA’s list of U.S. shrimp importers last year, though it topped 1,000 metric tons in 2016 and 2017.
Saudi Arabia’s 799 metric tons (MT) of shrimp exports to the U.S. between January and November 2019 is “an extremely high figure,” according to Bob Tanskey, president of Key Seafood Imports, a Perth Amboy, New Jersey, U.S.A. seafood importer.
“Middle East shrimp farm expansion bears closer watching going forward,” he told SeafoodSource.
According to NOAA’s November 2019 imports report, India continued to extend its lead in total shrimp imports to the U.S., with 28,290 metric tons (MT), or 62.4 million pounds. That’s up from the 22,481 MT (40.6 million pounds) it exported to the U.S. in November 2018. In the first 11 months of 2019, India exported 258,837 MT (570.5 million pounds) of shrimp to the U.S. – already an all-time annual record, as the total is up from its 247,783 MT (546.1 million pounds) imported in all of 2018. Imports from India represent 40.6 of year-to-date shrimp imports to the U.S.
Besides India, Ecuador, Vietnam, Mexico, and Argentina all recorded year-to-date tonnage increases for U.S. shrimp imports in the first 11 months of 2019. China, Thailand, Honduras, Peru, and Indonesia all lost ground compared to their January-November 2019 stats.
The top 10 shrimp exporters to the U.S. by volume were India, Indonesia, Ecuador, Vietnam, Thailand, Mexico, China, Argentina, Peru, and Honduras. Last year, the top 10 ranking looked slightly different: India, Indonesia, Ecuador, Vietnam, China, Thailand, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, and Honduras.
China recorded nearly 60 percent less U.S. shrimp exports in January-November 2019 than it did in the same time period in 2018. Thailand experienced a 13.1 percent drop in the same time-frame, while Peru exported 28.4 percent fewer shrimp to the U.S. and Honduras experienced a 50 percent drop.
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