Countervailing duties imposed on foreign shrimp coming to the United States will raise prices for some farmed product, but not enough to have a demonstrable impact to increase demand for Gulf of Mexico shrimp.
The U.S. Department of Commerce in late May announced duties on shrimp coming from Malaysia, China, India and Thailand, but imposed duties so low on shrimp from Ecuador and Indonesia they won’t impact imports from those countries.
The duties were the result of complaints from domestic Gulf shrimp processors, who say foreign government subsidies for shrimp producers harm their ability to get true prices for their products.
Will the duties have an impact on Gulf shrimp? Not much, said one executive at a West Coast seafood distributor.
“I don’t see this wild/farmed dichotomy as that elastic, in this market. The exporters will bear the brunt of the countervailing duties,” he said. “The Gulf shrimp is still more expensive, not as well known, and I can’t imagine anyone switching from USD 6 Indian 16/20s to USD 7.90 Gulf shrimp just because the Indian shrimp went up 30 cents in price. The 16/20 raw, headless, shell-on whites at USD 7.80 is no bargain and they will not be missed by our Southwestern clientele.”
As for supply from the Gulf, the executive says there is a shortage of raw, headless, shell-on shrimp, and buyers are shifting their purchases to wild Mexican shrimp. “We have been out for a while unexpectedly and everyone has shifted over to wild West Coast [shrimp from Mexico],” he said.
The majority of the shrimp being landed is head-on for peeling, with sizes of 60- to 70-count and smaller, one supplier said in a note to customers. Headless white production is mainly focused on 16-20s and 21-25s, but has been light entering the second week of June. “Expect to see the headless white production improve in June,” the supplier said. “We should see lower prices.” Brown production is “nonexistent for now” but should pick up in mid-July, he said.
Others report “robust” demand for Gulf shrimp at the start of the season, and that is allowing fishermen to get good prices for headless, shell-on shrimp. Prices are not as good for peeled, non-deveined product as inventories still are being unwound as new catches come in.
Prices in early June for headless, shell-on brown Gulf shrimp ranged from USD 3 a pound for 61-70s to more than USD 13 a pound for U-10s. Shell-on, headless Gulf whites were seeing prices in the mid-USD 4 range for 41-50s to the mid-USD 12s for U-12s. Peeled, headless Gulf shrimp were fetching around USD 2.25 a pound for 61-70s and USD 4.15 for 6-8 counts.
“Someone else was telling me this is the worst large white season in seven years, and maybe a delayed impact of the [BP] spill,” the executive said. “It could be a decadal event, too, or a combination thereof.”
