September 2022 marked another month of year-over-year declines in U.S. shrimp imports.
The U.S. also posted lower year-over-year import totals in August, July, and June 2022.
According to the latest NOAA data, the U.S. imported a total of 143.3 million pounds, or 65,002 metric tons (MT), in September 2022, which was significantly less than the 163 million pounds (73,944 MT) it imported in September 2021. It is also less than its August 2022 total of 157 million pounds (71,388 MT).
The largest shrimp supplier to the U.S., India, was responsible for 60.4 million pounds (27,393 MT) of U.S. exports, down from the 72.1 million pounds (32,706 MT) it sent to the U.S. in September 2021 and from the 63 million pounds (28,568 MT) it sent in August 2022.
Ecuador’s U.S. shrimp exports rose year-over-year to 33.4 million pounds (15,162 MT), up from 30.1 million pounds (13,651 MT) it exported in September 2022, but down from the 36.9 million pounds (16,752 MT) it sent in August 2022.
Indonesia’s total also dropped, reaching 23.3 million pounds (10,588 MT) in September 2022, down from 25.6 million pounds (11,594 MT) in September 2021 and 26.8 million pounds in August 2022.
Continuing the trend, Vietnam sent 11.8 million pounds (5,370 MT) of shrimp to the U.S. in September 2022, down from the 17.7 million pounds (8,031 MT) it sent in September 2021 and the 12.7 million pounds (5,779 MT) it shipped in August 2022.
Thailand also followed suit, sending 5.6 million pounds (2,557 MT) in September 2022, down from 6.6 million pounds in September 2021 and the 8.4 million pounds (3,805 MT) of shrimp exports to the U.S. in August 2022.
Argentina and Mexico maintained their U.S. shrimp exports at around 1,000 MT each in September 2022, mostly even with figures from the previous month year.
Photo courtesy of Phensri Ngamsommitr/Shutterstock
