The United States imported 1.46 billion pounds (662,245 metric tons – MT) of shrimp in 2017, an increase of 133.5 million pounds (60,555 MT) compared with the previous year, with peeled shrimp leading the growth, finds the latest data provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries.
U.S. shrimp imports have grown consistently since 2013 when they stood at 1.12 billion pounds (508,023 MT), but the largest year-on-year growth has come in the past 12 months.
The main imported shrimp formats during 2017 were peeled (831.6 million pounds – 377,207 MT), shell-on headless (524.2 million pounds – 237,773 MT) and breaded (104.4 million pounds – 47,355 MT).
NOAA’s data also finds that just 1.9 million pounds (862 MT) of shrimp were landed in the Gulf of Mexico in January 2018, around half the volume caught in January 2017 and the lowest catch for the month for the past five years.
At the same time, ex-vessel prices for most shrimp sizes in both the Western and Northern Gulf decreased last month. There was insufficient dealers’ reporting in the Eastern Gulf.
The average ex-vessel price per pound of UN/15 sized headless shrimp was USD 8 (EUR 6.49) in the Northern Gulf and USD 9.48 (EUR 7.69) in the Western Gulf. For 26/30 sizes, prices stood at USD 3.36 (EUR 2.73) per pound in the Northern Gulf and USD 3.96 (EUR 3.21) in the Western Gulf. For 41/50s, the prices were USD 2.42 (EUR 1.96) in the Northern Gulf and USD 2.63 (EUR 2.13) in the Western Gulf.
In 2017, Gulf Coast fishermen landed 100.4 million pounds (45,541 MT) of shrimp, which was up on the 93.9 million pounds (42,592 MT) recorded in 2016, but short of the totals achieved in 2015, 2014 and 2013.
The per capita consumption of shrimp in the United States currently stands at 4.1 pounds (1.9 kg), making it the country’s most popular seafood product ahead of salmon (2.2 pounds – 998g) and canned tuna (2.1 pounds – 953g).
