The Japanese market imported USD 145.7 million (EUR 128.4 million) worth of shrimp from Vietnam in the first four months of this year, a decrease of 0.1 percent year-on-year, which the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) attributed to a weakened yen, an economic downturn and high shrimp prices.
However, according to the International Trade Commission (ITC), Japan’s total shrimp imports during the aforementioned period reached 62,300 metric tons (MT) worth USD 645.7 million (EUR 569.2 million), up 11.4 percent in volume and 2.9 percent in value year-on-year.
Despite the slight reduction in Japan’s imports from Vietnam, the Southeast Asian country remained the Japanese market’s No. 1 shrimp supplier. It was followed by Thailand, Indonesia and India. Of these suppliers, shrimp imports from India showed the most growth – increasing 70 percent and 55.4 percent in volume and value, respectively.
For the January through April period, the average price of shrimp imported into Japan was USD 10.23 (EUR 9.02) per kg, down from USD 11.25 (EUR 9.92) in the corresponding four months of 2015. The average import price of Indonesian shrimp was the highest, followed by Vietnam, Thailand and India.
In terms of product formats, there is growing demand in the Japanese market for cooked and ready-to-eat shrimp, said VASEP.
