WET MARKET

By: Mida

PThe South Americans have long treasured the Chinese market as they have been able to sell HOSO shrimp there with minimum processing. Combined with the superior farming techniques, most of the time using extensive farming practices & utilising a singular land mass where shrimp is easily transported from farm to factory, the South Americans (and especially the Ecuadorians) have cornered the Chinese markets in the way no other player could. is a focus on peeled items for the US to avoid the dependence on Asia. The traditional exporters to the US market, Indonesian & India have to be aware of the competition.

reliminary data of last years shrimp exports are out. Shrimp insights reported that Ecuador finally surpassed the 1,000,000MT volume annual exports of shrimp. This is an increase of 21% over 2021. The figure was set to be even higher but the turmoil of the last quarter of last year saw a drop in demand. Keep in mind that the bulk of Ecuadorian production is geared towards head on production but increasingly there

Ecuador is only 2 weeks sailing time to either the east cost or west cost of the USA compared to 20 days from India and anywhere between 30 & 45 days of Indonesia. This gives them a strong edge as American importers no longer have to place an order & risk having the market move in the 60 days it would take them to finally see their shrimp.

The Chinese have the volume requirements & the Ecuadorians have the quality. As much as 80% of Ecuadorian shrimp went to China in the past. Covid showed that being ultra reliant on China was a mistake. As such, in mid-late 2020 the Ecuadorian shrimp industry switched into high gear to adjust their production for the US market. Today, they are able to supply shrimp on par with the Indian quality, reaching the markets faster & sometimes with even better prices.

If not addressed, this could spell doom for Indonesia, traditionally the world’s third largest shrimp producer. Preliminary statistics show that even when the market tanked in 2022, Indonesian shrimp still marginally increased which shows that Indonesian farmers are still making profits even at the reduced buying prices of the US. With the emergence of Ecuador, Indonesia will have to take a good hard look at their shrimp industry. As it is, quality wise the Indians have them on the backfoot. Add the Ecuadorian easy access to the market & their phenomenal volumes there is no easy way for the Indonesians to regain the initiative.