posted by admin on 01/06/06

Volume Edges Higher, Value Slips Lower



In 2005, total shrimp imports rose two percent, to 1.2 billion pounds, but their value dropped by about a half of a percent to $3.6 billion. 



In the last five years the average price of imported shrimp products has fallen from $4.94 a pound to $3.12 a pound, a 37% drop.

Like 2004, the increase in total shrimp imports was due chiefly to larger shipments of processed shrimp products. Frozen shrimp products were up only marginally. Fresh shrimp accounted for only a fraction of total imports, but fresh prices were higher during the last quarter of 2005, when hurricanes caused extensive damage to the USA shrimp fishing industry, the major supplier of fresh shrimp in the USA. 



From 2003 to 2005, shrimp imports from Indonesia increased from less than 50 million pounds to over 116 million pounds.

From 2003 to 2005, shrimp imports from China decreased from 179 million pounds to less than 100 million pounds. 



Source: Aquaculture Outlook. David J. Harvey, Editor (phone 202-694-5177, email djharvey@ers.usda.gov). United States Department of Agriculture, Electronic Outlook Report from the Economic Research Service: Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook/LDP-AQS-23. March 9, 2006.