American consumers love their shrimp, and the bigger the better.
“Shrimp sales are always high for us during the holidays,” said a Washington, DC, seafood retailer. “Our customers go for large or jumbos.” The store was selling large for USD 18.99 (EUR 16.07) a pound and jumbos for USD 21.99 (EUR 18.60), sourced either fresh from the Carolinas or previously frozen from Texas.
Catering and parties were major sales drivers for the retailer, beginning after Thanksgiving and continuing through the New Year. Catering alone accounted for about 250 pounds of cocktail shrimp sold, with a couple hundred pounds of large and jumbo sales added through the store.
Prices rose during the summer, he said, and stayed high through the holidays, but that didn’t dampen demand.
A Chicago seafood restaurateur also saw a significant spike in shrimp usage because of an increase in holiday events. “We normally go through about 1,500 pounds of shrimp a month, and in December we used 2,200 pounds,” he said.
In addition to the usual shrimp dinners, he said factors influencing usage were carry-out trays for at-home parties and major shrimp presentations during December Sunday brunches that featured a cold shrimp bar and fried shrimp on the buffet.
“Shrimp has mass appeal and everyone seems to like it,” he said. Even people who claim not to like seafood will go for fried shrimp, he added. “Shrimp just says holidays and splurging.”
“This was the best holiday we’ve had since 2007,” he continued, noting a rise in business parties, busy brunches and steady dinner traffic. And other restaurant operators told him they saw similar strong sales throughout December.
The restaurant does a major shrimp buy in advance of the fourth quarter, focusing on Pacific Mexican brown shrimp in the 16-20 range. “They tend to be a little more expensive,” he said, but during yearly blind tastings, the brown shrimp always win out for their “nutty flavor.”
Going into this year, he said the November buy for first quarter use found shrimp prices steady. In late November, West Coast Mexico 16-20 browns were selling for around USD 9.50 (EUR 8.04) a pound.
A Midwest seafood distributor said he saw pricing creep up a bit going into the holidays, but sales remained strong. “Tiger sales were solid,” he said, noting most of his white-tablecloth restaurant and country club customers prefer P&D 6-8s or 16-20s. “We sell some 21s and smaller, but as you go down in size, sales lighten up.”
Based on market indicators, he said prices should soften early this year, with production likely to increase from all countries.
Among producers Vietnam, India and Thailand, prices out of Thailand are expected to be the highest, he said. But with China’s EMS recovery underway, there should be less demand from China on supplies from other countries, keeping prices in check.
