For U.S. buyers of Pacific white shrimp, the fourth quarter of 2010 got off to a nerve-wracking start. Prices began trending upward again in mid-September and showed no signs of letting up through mid-October.
A similar situation played out in the second quarter, when prices began increasing steadily in March and didn’t ease up until June. But, midway through the fourth quarter, prices were beginning to stabilize again, as raw material costs overseas finally leveled off, according to one major producer in Thailand. Still, U.S. buyers can expect to pay upward of USD 1 a pound more for vannamei than a year ago.
The reason is simple: An improving global economy has propped up demand and driven up prices, and supplies can’t keep up with demand. A handful of Asian countries, including Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh, are experiencing supply difficulties and will likely produce less shrimp this year.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, “Thailand seems to be the only main player with a good production outlook, [allowing it] to expand its dominant position in the U.S. market and become the main supplier to the Japanese market.”
However, after increasing in each of the previous three months, U.S. shrimp imports fell in September, to 121.2 million pounds, down 0.7 percent from September 2009, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.
In the first three quarters of 2010, U.S. shrimp imports were up 0.2 percent to 852.8 million pounds, compared to the same nine-month period last year. Through August, they were up over last year for the first time this year.
U.S. shrimp imports from Thailand, by far the No. 1 supplier to the U.S. market, were down 7.1 percent in September to 41.9 million pounds but were still up 5.4 percent in the first nine months of 2010 to nearly 300 million pounds.
In mid-November, shell-on, head-off Asian-raised vannamei was holding firm in the high-USD 6 range for 16-20s, mid- to high-USD 5 range for 21-25s, mid- to high-USD 4 range for 26-30s and high-USD 3 range for 31-35s.
