The United States imported 68,671 metric tons (MT) of shrimp in November 2018, a five percent increase over November 2017, according to the latest import figures provided by the NOAA Office of Science and Technology.
U.S. shrimp imports between January and November 2018 reached 633,393 MT, up 4.6 percent over the same time period in 2017.
India continued to top the rankings of importing countries, bringing 49,583 MT of shrimp into the U.S. in November 2018. With a total of 498,538 MT imported through November and with December’s data still to be tallied, it is very likely that India will be the first country to top 500 million pounds of shrimp imported to the United States in a calendar year, according to Bob Tanskey, president of Key Seafood Imports, a Perth Amboy, New Jersey, U.S.A. seafood importer.
“The numbers are not surprising at all,” Tanskey said. “India continues to be a shrimp powerhouse, and they’re just scratching the surface in terms of the country’s production capabilities.”
Indonesia continued to be the second-largest importer, with 26,217 MT of shrimp exported to the U.S. in November 2018, up from 24,431 MT in November 2017.
Vietnam moved up to third in the rankings, exporting 15,135 MT in November 2018, up from 11,287 MT a year prior. Mexico also moved up, sending 13,711 MT of shrimp to the U.S., which was actually less than the 14,161 MT it exported in November 2017. But those numbers pushed Thailand down to fifth in the rankings, as its shrimp exports to the U.S. dropped significantly from 16,834 MT in November 2017 to 12,745 in 2018.
“Thailand is a little bit of a surprise," Tanskey said. “Their tonnage is coming down. I suspect they’re not cultivating as much shrimp as they were, and it appears they may also be shifting to producing more premium-quality shrimp, similar to the move Ecuador has been trying to make.”
Ecuador was sixth on the list, exporting 12,428 MT, followed by China with 10,714 MT, Argentina, with 2,109 MT, Peru with 1,490 MT, and Guyana with 829 MT.
