U.S. shrimp imports declined 10.4 percent year over year in August 2024.
U.S. shrimp import totals amounted to 146 million pounds, or 66,194 metric tons (MT), in August 2024, down from 162 million pounds (73,429 MT) in August 2023. August’s imports rose, however, from the month prior, which totaled 134.4 million pounds (60,981 MT).
The eight-month period from January to August 2024 saw a year-over-year decline of 5.3 percent, with import totals down to 1.05 billion pounds (477,021 MT) from 1.2 billion pounds (503,214 MT) a year prior.
India remained the nation’s top importer, though its imports declined 15 percent year over year in August, from 67 million pounds (30,412 MT) in 2023 to 58 million pounds (26,302 MT) in 2024.
Ecuadorian exports to the U.S. dropped 18 percent in August of this year to 34.1 million pounds (15,462 MT) from 41 million pounds (18,577 MT) in August 2023.
Indonesia's shrimp exports to the U.S. experienced a 7 percent decline from 26 million pounds (11,735 MT) in August 2023 to 24.1 million pounds (10,945 MT) in August 2024.
Vietnam saw a 14 percent year-over-year increase in its exports – from 14.7 million pounds (6,669 MT) to 17 million pounds (7,699 MT). Thailand saw a decline – from 5.9 million pounds (2,669 MT) to 3.5 million pounds (1,608 MT) – and Argentina saw an increase, from 2.7 million pounds (1,246 MT) to 3.8 million pounds (1,739 MT).
No other nation sold more than 2.2 million pounds (1,000 MT) of shrimp exports to the U.S. in August.
The Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) reported on 4 October that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) refused 40 seafood entry lines in September, of which three were shrimp which contained banned antibiotics. The FDA also reported another eight entry line refusals of shrimp for the same reason in August, which had not been previously reported.
Entry line refusals for shrimp containing banned antibiotics in 2024 have already reached the second-highest annual amount reported by the FDA since 2017.
Two different Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP)-certified shrimp processors were responsible for the August and September refusals.
Vietnam-based Thuan Phuoc Seafoods and Trading Corporation, which holds a four-star BAP certification for its processing plant, had eight entry lines of breaded shrimp refused by the Division of West Coast Imports for contamination with veterinary drug residues and one entry line refused for shrimp contaminated with veterinary drug residues by the Division of Northern Border Imports.
India’s Avanti Frozen Foods Private, which operates two four-star BAP certified processing plants, had two entry lines refused by the Division of Northeast Imports for contamination due to chloramphenicol, an antibiotic commonly used to treat pink-eye.
FDA has also updated its list of import alerts to include Indonesia’s Timur Laut BMSfood, a shrimp processor and exporter that also holds a four-star BAP certification, for enrofloxacin and oxytetracycline in its shrimp. Oxytetracycline, in particular, has been implicated in cases of antibiotic resistance.
Indonesia-based Mega Marine Pride, a shrimp exporter which operates under a four-star BAP certification, had three entry lines of shrimp refused for being short-weighted in August and September.
SSA has been critical of BAP in the past and runs a “Check Your Suppliers” webpage where importers can search databases of antibiotic-contaminated shrimp, as well as shrimp produced with forced labor.
