Ecuador’s shrimp exports reached 236 million pounds in June 2024, slipping almost 2 percent from the 241 million pounds exported in the same month of 2023 and marking a significant difference from the record-setting 275 million pounds of shrimp the country exported in May 2024.
The value of those exports reached USD 524 million (EUR 469 million) in June, falling 8.2 percent from the USD 571 million (EUR 510 million) registered in the same month of 2023. The average price per pound reached USD 2.21 (EUR 1.97) in the month, marking a drop of 6.8 percent when compared to average prices of USD 2.37 (EUR 2.12) a year previously.
When compared to the same month of 2023, June shipments to Ecuador’s principal market, China, increased 5.2 percent in volume to 137 million pounds, but the value of those exports slipped 2.2 percent to USD 277 million (EUR 247 million).
Over the same period, exports to what is normally Ecuador’s second-largest market – the U.S. – plummeted 27.3 percent by value and 26.1 percent by volume to USD 91.6 million (EUR 81.8 million) and 32.8 million pounds, respectively. This was part of an overall trend in the U.S., which imported 14 percent less shrimp in June when compared to June 2023, including from its top shrimp provider, India.
Meanwhile, Ecuadorian shrimp shipments to Europe were down 16.5 percent by value and 12.4 percent by volume to USD 101 million (EUR 90.2 million) and 44.5 million pounds, respectively.
Ecuador’s three main export markets – China, the U.S., and Europe – bought more than 90 percent of all shrimp shipments sent abroad.
China cemented its position as the leading purchaser of Ecuadorian shrimp, buying up 57.7 percent of the product sent abroad in June, compared to 53.9 percent in June 2023. That was followed by Europe, which took up 18.8 percent of the pie this year, compared to 18.4 percent from one year ago, while the U.S. came in at 13.9 percent in June 2024, compared to 21.1 percent from the same month of 2023.
One move that affected trade to the U.S. is that in May, the U.S. Department of Commerce unveiled its preliminary determinations on antidumping duties for Ecuador and Indonesia, with most companies in Ecuador facing an additional charge of over 10 percent to ship into the lucrative U.S. market – adding to a 2.89 percent duty levied for antidumping.
Duties have also been placed on Vietnamese companies, which have forced some of the larger players, such as Minh Phu, to look elsewhere when searching for buyers abroad.
