The US raw peeled imports from India grew the most (+37 per cent), and the category makes up 75 per cent of the total
India and Ecuador set new records in shrimp import volume into the US in the first four months of 2024. India surpassed the 100,000 MT mark for the first time, reaching 109,478 MT, a remarkable 30 per cent increase compared to 2023. Ecuador also showed impressive growth, reaching 76,074 MT, a 17 per cent increase from 2023. Other top suppliers, including Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand, saw a year-on-year increase, albeit below their previous records set in 2022
India started 2024 with a year-on-year drop in January (-18 per cent) but then experienced a surge in February (+22 per cent), March (+25 per cent), and especially April (+97 per cent). Reaching 42,331 MT, with the previous record at 36,773 in August 2021, makes April 2024 imports a new monthly record. The US raw peeled imports from India grew the most (+37 per cent), and the category makes up 75 per cent of the total. Cooked peeled imports surged +19 per cent and composed 15 per cent of the total. Breaded shrimp is also on the rise. It is still tiny but almost touching 1,000 MT and is expected to increase further over 2024. Only shell-on imports from India slightly dropped by 1 per cent. Shell-on products still account for 9 per cent of the total.
Ecuador also started 2024 with a year-on-year drop. US imports from Ecuador dropped by 6 per cent in January. In February, March, and April, imports from Ecuador increased by 10 per cent, 25 per cent, and 46 per cent, respectively. Contrary to India, which saw an upward trend from January to April 2024 and imports from March to April 2024 almost doubled, Ecuador saw imports drop slightly from March to April 2024. The import increase from Ecuador was mainly accounted for by shell-on products (including HLSO EZP), which surged by +25 per cent and accounted for 61 per cent of the total. Peeled shrimp increased by +4 per cent and comprised 35 per cent of the total. Breaded and cooked shrimp each account for 2 per cent of the total. Cooked shrimp experienced a 122 per cent increase year-on-year, signalling potential competition for India.