After two months of decreases, shrimp imports into the United States rose 6 percent in March over the same month a year prior, according to recently released data from NOAA.
The U.S. imported 48,741 metric tons (MT) of shrimp in March, 6 percent more than the 45,979 MT brought in during the same period last year. While the increase countered some of the decreases in January and February, as a whole the country is down 6 percent compared to 2018.
The top importer was, once again, India, with a 30 percent increase in tonnage – from 32,950 MT in 2018 to 42,703 in 2019. India saw increases in both January and February, and was the largest importer of shrimp into the U.S. in 2018 when it became the first country to send 500 million pounds of shrimp to the U.S.
Mexico, as well, has had positive growth for the year. The country sent 2,104 MT of shrimp to the U.S. in March, a 22 percent increase over last year’s total of 1,723 MT. For the year, Mexico has sent 15,033 MT of shrimp to the U.S., an increase of 14.3 percent.
Thailand, which saw significant decreases in February, has bounced back slightly, importing 3,162 MT in March, an increase of 20 percent over 2018. However, that did not offset the lower totals from January and February, and the country is still down 20 percent for the year, from 11,305 MT in 2018 to 9,025 MT in 2019.
Indonesia, as well, saw some recovery from the previous month’s low totals, sending 10,202 MT of shrimp. However, that is still lower than the previous year’s 10,908 MT, and the country is down year-over-year by 14 percent.
Showing the biggest decreases for the third month in a row, China’s import totals fell once more in March. China sent just 662 MT to the U.S., down 65 percent for the month of March from the previous year’s 1,903 MT. Overall, China’s imports to the U.S. are down 60 percent for the year, sending just 4,521 MT of shrimp in the period from Jan. to March compared to the previous year’s total over the same period of 11,285 MT.
Other countries which saw decreases are Ecuador, with a narrow decrease in volume of just 24 MT over the same period in March 2018, a difference of less than a percent. Despite the recovery, the country is still down 12 percent in 2019. Vietnam, as well, decreased by 7 percent in March, with an 8 percent decrease for the year, and Peru and Honduras both decreased in March by over 20 percent.
