The U.S. government has awarded several Southern seafood processors wild shrimp contracts worth more than USD 25 million (EUR 21.5 million).
The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded the contracts – for around 217,000 cases of frozen shrimp worth USD 25.14 million (EUR 21.6 million) – as part of it Section 32 purchasing program for federal food and nutrition programs.
Breaux Bridge, Louisiana-based Ocean Select Seafood snared the majority of the award, supplying peeled and deveined shrimp worth around USD 17 million (EUR 15 million).
Isola, Mississippi-based Consolidated Catfish Companies will supply both tail-on and peeled and deveined shrimp in a contract worth more than USD 3.3 million (EUR 2.8 million).
Lafitte Frozen Foods in Lafitte, Louisiana, will supply both shell-on, tail-on shrimp and peeled and deveined shrimp, worth USD 2.54 million (EUR 2.2 million).
Bayou La Batre, Alabama-based Sea Pearl Seafood Company will supply peeled and deveined shrimp worth around USD 2.23 million (EUR 1.9 million).
The USDA has been on a buying spree of domestic seafood this year – partially due to increased need created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Alaska suppliers, including Trident Seafood and Channel Fish, have been some of the biggest benefactors of the pollock contracts, worth nearly USD 26.4 million (EUR 22.6 million), according to Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers.
For the shrimp contracts, the suppliers will deliver the shrimp between 1 November, 2020, and 31 January, 2021.
However, the USDA did not purchase several thousand pounds of shrimp due to vendor constraints and a lack of bids being received for the items requested.
Photo courtesy of Shannon Jordan/Shutterstock
