USA SHRIMP IMPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2008

Shrimp Imports During the First Quarter of 2008

The volume of USA shrimp imports fell in the first quarter of 2008, continuing a trend that began in 2007. With the drop in volume, however, prices turned upward, pushing average prices to the highest level in two years.

Shrimp Import Trends
	2006	2007	2008
March Volume*	76.9	84.5	76.9
January–March Volume*	274.7	278.2	273.0
Value**	$859.1	$856.1	$861.9
Dollars Per Pound	$3.13	$3.06	$3.16
* millions of pounds **millions of dollars

The drop in import volume for the first three months of the year was small, falling only 1.9% from the previous year to 273 million pounds. That compares to the 278.2 million pounds for the first quarter of 2007 and 274.7 million pounds in 2006.

The drop in volume, however, was most pronounced during March 2008, the last month of the first quarter, dropping 9% from the previous year to 76.9 million pounds, back to the import levels in 2006.

Top Ten Shrimp Exporters to the USA
Rank	Country	2007*	2008*	% Change
1	Thailand	87.5	77.1	-11.9
2	Indonesia	27.6	45.7	+65.6
3	Ecuador	38.0	34.7	-8.7
4	China	39.0	28.4	-27.2
5	Vietnam	13.1	19.0	+45.0
6	Malaysia	10.1	15.6	+54.4
7	Mexico	15.2	14.3	-5.9
8	India	9.1	6.5	-28.6
9	Bangladesh	6.7	6.1	-8.9
10	Guyana	5.7	5.5	-3.5
* millions of pounds

During the first quarter of 2008, the average price of imported shrimp rose 3.3%, hitting $3.16 a pound, up from $3.06 in 2007 and $3.13 in 2006.

Because of the decline in the value of the dollar, the USA is no longer the most attractive market for shrimp anymore, and suppliers are moving product elsewhere. Through the first quarter, seven out of the top ten shrimp suppliers saw shipments to the USA drop. Thailand, the top supplier of shrimp to the USA during the first quarter of 2007, saw its shipments fall 11.9% in the first quarter of 2008, hitting only 77.1 million pounds. Shipments from China continue to drop. In the first quarter of 2007, China was the number two supplier to the USA, but in the first quarter of 2008, it fell to number four.

Indonesia had the strongest growth in shipments to the USA, up 65.6% in the first quarter of 2008 to 45.7 million pounds, and Vietnam’s exports to the USA grew 45% to 19 million pounds in the first quarter. Among suppliers from South America, Ecuador’s exports dropped by 8.7%, Mexico’s by 5.9% and Guyana’s by 3.5%.

Source: Seafood Trend Newsletter (independent coverage of the seafood market since 1984, 8227 Ashworth Avenue North, Seattle, WA 98103-4434 USA, phone 206-523-2280, fax 206-526-8719, email seafoodtrend@aol.com). Editor, Ken Talley. May 12, 2008.