U.S. shrimp imports rebounded in October, topping 135 million pounds, up 1.6 percent from October 2009, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported on Friday.
It’s been an up-and-down year for U.S. shrimp imports, which had increased in each of the last three months (June, July and August) until slipping in September. Prior to June, they had dropped in 10 of the last 11 months.
But now U.S. shrimp imports are on track to this year exceed 2009’s total of 1.21 billion pounds, albeit slightly. Through October, they were up 0.4 percent to nearly 988 million pounds.
Among the top eight suppliers, only two — Indonesia and Mexico — watched their shrimp exports to the U.S. market fall in the first 10 months of 2010. Imports from Indonesia were down 15.7 percent to 112.2 million pounds, while imports from Mexico were down 44.6 percent to 39.1 million pounds.
Imports from Thailand, by far the No. 1 shrimp supplier to the U.S. market, were up 6.3 percent in the first 10 months of 2010 to almost 354 million pounds.
U.S. shrimp imports usually peak in October, as buyers gear up for the hectic winter holiday season. In November and December 2009, shrimp imports reached 117.4 million and 107.6 million pounds, respectively.
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