India has been confirmed by the Globefish unit of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations as the world’s No. 1 exporter of shrimp in 2016, with the total volume shipped by the country increasing 14.5 percent compared with the previous year to 438,500 metric tons (MT).
The trade includes a 130 percent spike in India’s value-added shrimp exports, which amounted to 23,400 MT, and went mostly to the U.S. market.
Following India in volume terms were Vietnam with 425,000 MT of shrimp products (up 18 percent), Ecuador with 372,600 MT (up 7.8 percent), Indonesia with 220,000 MT (up 21 percent) and Thailand with 209,400 MT (up 22 percent).
Despite holding top spot, Indian shrimp exporters are concerned that the EU – their third largest market – could place a ban on Indian shrimp imports amid contamination concerns. Since late 2016, the EU Veterinary Authority has increased the mandatory quality checks place on Indian farmed shrimp from 10 to 50 percent.
Globefish’s report also finds that overall shrimp imports increased moderately in the U.S., EU and Japanese markets, while China has seen strong import demand growth amid falling domestic production.
Additionally, it said that mixed production trends for farmed shrimp were observed in Asian producing countries last year, with a total estimated production of around 2.5 million MT.
“While disease remained a major concern, adverse weather conditions also had an impact on production, particularly during the first-half of the year. Fortunately, supplies recovered in India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand during the second-half of 2016,” it added.
In terms of prices, vannamei shrimp prices increased marginally last year. In the single-largest import market, the United States, there was a 5.5 percent rise in import prices compared to 2015, with U.S. prices for Indian and Ecuadorean shrimp increasing by 2.7 percent and 7.8 percent respectively.
