Rabobank predicts global shrimp farming's difficulties will continue in 2024

Farmed salmon and fishmeal production is likely to stabilize worldwide in 2024 thanks to manageable increases in supply and slightly lower prices in both sectors, but it’s a very different story for farmed shrimp, with heavy oversupply, extremely low prices, and weaker than expected Chinese demand taking their toll going into the year, according to the latest industry report from Rabobank.Compiled by Rabobank Senior Global Seafood Specialist Gorjan Nikolik, “Global Aquaculture Update 1H 2024" states that in 2023, shrimp farmers faced one of the most challenging years in more than a decade. Weak shrimp demand in Western markets, combined with persistently strong supply from Ecuador, created price levels that dropped even lower than the lowest point of the Covid-19 pandemic, while costs remained elevated due to high feed prices.Those effects have continued into the new year, with the low prices and weak demand making it hard to predict when the market might stabilize. Indeed, the ...