Shrimp prices in Japan steadily gained from January to June, but leveled off in July as demand diminishes in the warmer months. On 9 August, Indonesian shell on 8/12 black tigers were JPY 2,000 (USD 20.35, EUR 15.03) per kilogram, (kg), while 16/20 were approximately JPY 1,500 (USD 15.26, EUR 11.27) per kg.
Indonesia and Argentina shrimp are most prominent in the market. In May, Japan’s imports of frozen shrimp from Indonesia had increased from 2,767 metric tons (MT) to 3,244 MT, while Argentina rose from 319 to 362 MT. That trend has continued, with Thailand the biggest market-share loser. There is a general shortage, as neither supermarkets nor traders are holding any stock.
The shortage and price rise were due to Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) in Southeast Asia, Japan’s stringent chemical residue standards for the chemical ethoxyquin and the weaker yen.
The EMS outbreak was most severe in Vietnam and Thailand, also affecting China and Malaysia. Thai shrimp production in the first quarter of 2013 fell by 30 percent from the same period in 2012. Nearly 80 percent of farms in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta were also affected, but reductions in stocking ratios there are reported to have brought the disease under control. Shrimp production in China and Malaysia was also cut sharply as a result of the spread of the disease. U.S. researcher Dr. Donald Lightner has said that the disease has spread to the Americas and is responsible for losses in Mexico.
Meanwhile shrimp imports into Japan both from India and Vietnam (two main shrimp suppliers for Japan) were restrained due to detection of ethoxyquin. In September of last year, Japan’s Food Safety Commission announced updated regulations, which imposed mandatory testing for ethoxyquin of all shrimp consignments from Vietnam from May and from India in September. The maximum acceptable level was reduced from 1 ppm to only 0.01 ppm. Several hundred Vietnamese and Indian shipments have been rejected. As a result, producers in the two countries have sharply reduced stocking rates.
“A lot of the rejected shipments go to China — it has to go somewhere — but some of it is repacked and sent to Japan again,” a trader at the Osaka Central Wholesale market said.
The yen is also lower, reducing Japanese buying power.
Vannamei (white leg) shrimp are especially scarce, due to their susceptibility to EMS.
However, green tiger shrimp (Penaeus semisulcatus) are gaining popularity as a lighter-colored shrimp, with prices similar to black tigers. The name “flower shrimp” (“hana” in Japanese) has been adopted from Hong Kong, where the variety is popular, though there was already a Japanese name: kuma-ebi. In comparison with black tiger, the color when cooked it is somewhat translucent with bands of pinkish orange while the black tigers have white flesh with reddish orange marks. The flesh is softer than that of black tigers.
