China is the
largest consumer and importer of shrimp in the world along with the US. The
shrimp market in China is expected to exceed 2million tons by 2023, exhibiting
a CAGR of 2%. The demand of this particular seafood has escalated in the
country because of high growth in the Chinese-middle class population with
economic development. In 2019, the country became the largest importer of
shrimp by importing 800,000 metric tons, overtaking the USA. However, such
large imports specifically from India and Ecuador, and strong domestic harvest
the shrimp prices in the country went weak even during the Spring Festivities.
The two-week-long
festival, which starts with the Chinese New Year on Jan 26, sparks frenzy in
seafood trade and the imports of seafood specifically shrimp typically doubles.
However, a Shanghai-based importer, whose firm expects to import 150 containers
of shrimp this year, said that the current market prices are " in the bottom of
the valley' and his company is struggling to shift the product. In January
2019, China imported as much as 100,000 metric tons of shrimps; 74,000 were
imported directly and almost 30,000 ton of undocumented shrimp was imported
from Vietnam.
According to shrimp
importer who orders at high prices in the run-up to this year's Chinese New
Year is losing money on each sale and this situation is not expected to improve
any time sooner. The importer are pointing finger at the high supply from South
America, and Ecuador, which have oversupplied the market than the demand.
Impact of oversupply of imported shrimps on the local
Chinese market:
Low prices of
imported frozen shrimps appear to be impacting the market for live Chinese
farmed shrimps, with prices also down on year-on-year. According to a Chinese
aquaculture industry publication, shrimp farmers in Jiangmen county, Guangdong
province, were considering, " throwing their shrimps into the river', because
of a lack of buyers. Local shrimp farmers were looking forward to getting good
prices for Chinese New year, especially with African Swine Fever causing pork
price volatility, but the market has been disappointing for them.