Ecuador’s shrimp exports experienced their highest 2025 monthly gains by volume and value in October, according to shrimp industry blog ShrimpInsights.
Total export volumes in the month reached 116,109 metric tons (MT), marking a 35 percent year-over year-increase. This brought the country's export volume from January to October to 1,154,317 MT, a 16 percent year-over-year increase.
October’s exports were valued at USD 650 million (EUR 558.8 million), a 48 percent year-over-year increase, helping the total from January to October to spike to USD 6.16 billion (EUR 5.3 billion), a 25 percent improvement year over year.
The top market for Ecuadorian shrimp in October was China, which bought 50,722 MT, a 12 percent increase over last October. That brings China’s 2025 import totals through October to 556,190 MT, a 4 percent year-over-year increase.
The European Union was the next top importer of shrimp from Ecuador, with 24,412 MT brought in during the month, a 41 percent year-over-year improvement, bringing the 2025 total through October to 227,337 MT, a 34 percent increase over the 10-month total at the same point last year.
Ecuador also increased its export totals to the U.S., despite tariffs that have reportedly cost the nation’s shrimp producers around USD 20 million (EUR 17.2 million) a month. Nevertheless, the U.S. imported 27,423 MT of Ecuadorian shrimp in October, marking a 105 percent year-over-year increase. Despite the big monthly spike, the 10-month total reached 224,217 MT, which was only up 26 percent year over year thanks to slow growth in February and a decline in March.
Russia and Japan were the next biggest importers.
Russia saw a big decline in its October imports, continuing a pattern that has been occurring since July. In October, the nation imported 1,750 MT of Ecuadorian shrimp, a 28 percent year-over-year decline, bringing the 10-month total to 20,844 MT – a 14 percent year-over-year decline.
Exports to Japan, however, saw robust growth in October at 1,743 MT. That represented an 83 percent increase in volume over the previous October, bringing the 10-month volume to 16,236 MT, a 43 percent increase.
ShrimpInsights Founder and Chief Analyst Willem van der Pijl said, in an update on the Ecuadorian market, that “Japan stands out as one of Ecuador's most reliable growth markets.”
