U.S. shrimp imports remain on track to exceed last year’s total of 1.23 billion pounds, according to figures released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service on Friday.
U.S. shrimp imports were up 10.9 percent in September, to 134.4 million pounds — that’s the largest monthly increase this year and the third consecutive month that shrimp imports have grown.
As for the first three quarters of 2011, shrimp imports were up 4.5 percent, to 891.3 million pounds.
Among the top eight shrimp suppliers to the U.S. market, only imports from Thailand and China were down from a year ago.
Shrimp imports from Thailand — by far the United States’ No. 1 shrimp supplier — were down 4.4 percent, to 286.2 million pounds, in the first nine months of 2011. The country is battling the worst flooding in decades, which has impaired shrimp production. In addition to the farms, the flooding is so sever that it’s also threatening processing and storage facilities.
One Bangkok-based shrimp supplier reported recently that exporters are trying to ship out stock in anticipation of the flooding, and, in some cases, they’re pushing buyers for early shipments. That may boost Thai shrimp exports in the fourth quarter.
Click here to read last week’s market report on Thai shrimp.
As for China, shrimp imports from that country were down 8.6 percent, to 65.1 million pounds.
Meanwhile, shrimp imports from Indonesia, Ecuador and Vietnam were up 15.4 percent, 9.2 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively, from a year ago.
