U.S. shrimp imports fell for the third consecutive month in May, down nearly 10 percent, to 76.7 million pounds, from May 2009, according to figures the National Marine Fisheries Service released on Tuesday.
In fact, U.S. shrimp imports have dropped in 10 of the last 11 months.
Through the first five months of 2010, U.S. shrimp imports were down 5.1 percent, to just under 400 million pounds, from the same period last year.
The main culprit is Indonesia, where shrimp farmers are battling an outbreak of the myonecrosis virus and shrimp production is expected to decline significantly this year. At 152.8 million pounds, the country was last year’s No. 2 shrimp supplier to the United States.
But through May, U.S. shrimp imports from Indonesia were down more than 30 percent, to 53 million pounds, from last year.
However, U.S. shrimp imports from Thailand, by far the No. 1 shrimp supplier to the United States, were up more than 13 percent, to 142.1 million pounds, through May, while shrimp imports from China were up 7.8 percent, to 33.8 million pounds.
Though a smaller player, Malaysia has significantly increased its shrimp exports to the United States, reaching 15.7 million pounds through May, up nearly 24 percent from last year.
