The United States imported 316,622 metric tons (MT) of shrimp in the first seven months of this year, up slightly on the 315,122 MT that that the market brought in during the corresponding period of 2015, according to the latest statistics from NOAA Fisheries.
Indonesia was the U.S. market’s No. 1 supplier during the January through July 2016 period with 71,450 MT, followed closely by India with 67,884 MT, and then Ecuador and Thailand with 43,549 MT and 40,470 MT respectively. Of these countries, only Ecuador didn’t supply more shrimp than it did in the first seven months of 2015.
In terms of product formats, the U.S. market imported 121,721 MT of shell-on headless shrimp, 170,394 MT of peeled shrimp, 814 MT of canned shrimp and 23,687 MT of breaded shrimp.
In 2015, the United States imported more than 586,000 MT of shrimp with a total value of around USD 5.5 billion (EUR 4.9 billion).
Meanwhile, in the first eight months of this year, Gulf Coast fishermen landed 25,561 MT of shrimp, down from 30,480 MT in the corresponding period of last year and the lowest level in the past five years.
The average ex-vessel price per pound of 15/20 sized headless shrimp in August was USD 5.98 (EUR 5.32) in the Eastern Gulf, USD 4.43 (EUR 3.94) in the Northern Gulf and USD 5.64 (EUR 5.02) in the Western Gulf. For 41/50 sizes, prices stood at USD 2.04 (EUR 1.82) in the Eastern Gulf, USD 2.16 (EUR 1.92) in the Northern Gulf and USD 1.46 (EUR 1.30) in the Western Gulf.
