Ecuadorian Shrimp Market Guide

According to El Comercio, Ecuadorian shrimp is highly sought out for these reasons: 

• Freshness. José Antonio Camposano, executive president of the National Chamber of Aquaculture explains that what consumer markets are looking for is not a processed product, but a fresh shrimp. "The pristine shrimp, which is caught, frozen, and sent to the destination market, is the one that the consumer is willing to pay the most for."
  

• Size. Ongoing genetic research, which gained momentum after the devastating effects of the white spot virus, is targeting larger, faster-growing animals with greater resistance to disease.
  

• Environmental care. Camposano highlights that consumers increasingly appreciate a product that is the result of good environmental practices. The head of the shrimp guild mentions that brackish land is used for the cultivation of crustaceans, which has no vocation for other agricultural activities, which is why more jobs are generated.
  

• Quality. Ecuador exports a 'premium' shrimp. In the crustacean processors, the animal that comes out of the pools is selected whole, without physical defects, and that is the one that is destined for export. Animals that have defects of some kind have another fate.
  

• Social factor. Another factor that the consumer rewards are the social ingredient behind the product that reaches the hangers. 60% of the people who work in the Ecuadorian shrimp production chain, from capture to processing, are women, according to the National Chamber of Aquaculture. According to its president, these women are mostly female heads of the household.
  

1. Hatcheries ⇒ 2. Shrimp farming ⇒ 3. Harvest ⇒ 4. (Processing) Reception and analysis of raw material ⇒ 5. Selection process (Start filtering) ⇒ 6. Classification ⇒ 7. Aggregated value ⇒ 8. Packaging ⇒ 9. Freezing ⇒ 10.Storage ⇒ 11. Export

There are two types of exporters:

1. Exporting companies that have processing facilities but do not own hatcheries nor farm.

2. Exporting companies have their own hatcheries and farms that can produce shrimp every week.

• Those who own their hatcheries and farms can manage the ex-farm price and export price, but exporters with processing facilities have to source shrimp from farmers or exporters who own their farms - price takers.

• Two types of shrimp processed in Ecuador: HOSO(Head on shell on) and HLSO(Headless, shell on), and HLSO, RPDTP, CPDTD are categorized as aggregated value shrimp.

• As additional processing stage is applied to process HLSO shrimp, price per kilo for HLSO shrimp is 30% higher than HOSO.
  

Shrimp-prawns and bananas are the top two exported products. The third place is be fish, mainly tuna with HS code “1604”. Then cocoa beans and cocoa preparations holds the 4th position as a major exported product with its HS code  “1801”.

At the present, Ecuador is the global leading supplier of bananas. The country holds approximately 23.4% of the global export share. Despite Ecuador’s small geographic area, the country is considered a powerful and important supplier of shrimps & prawns, fish, and cocoa representing global export shares of 5.6%, 7.5%, and 6.5% respectively.

MAJOR EXPORTED PRODUCTS

The biggest shrimp exporter – Santa Priscila – represents 21.40% of the total market share, and the biggest five companies represent 56% of the total export value. It is not common to import directly from processing facilities as almost all exporters have their own packing facilities. Therefore, it's necessary to contact exporters for international transactions.

Seller's market: The shrimp industry in Ecuador is a seller's market with major suppliers (e.g Songa), and buyers always want to import from the major players due to quality and brand premium. 

Shrimp is produced all year round, but production depends on the tide calendar (tide-high volume).

According to 2019 Tridge’s statistics, the United States remains as Ecuador’s main trade partner representing an export value of USD 7.3B. The main products exported to this country are shrimp & prawns, tropical fruits, and fish (especially tuna).

In 2nd place stands Ecuador’s strongest South American export partner, Chile, with an export value of USD 1.6B. This value is mainly composed of fruits.

The Russian Federation holds 3rd place as an Ecuador main trade partner and the principal destination for Ecuadorian bananas. Russia represents USD 1.3B of Ecuador’s export value, bananas export value is worth USD 1.1B of the whole share.

MAJOR EXPORTING DESTINATIONS

• Ecuadorian shrimp exports reached new records in H1 2022: Volume was recorded at 510 thousand mt, up 33% compared to the same period last year, while value totaled $3.29 billion, up by 58% YoY. Both volume and value were the highest levels on record for the first six months of a year.

Source: Tridge and Ecuador National Aquaculture Chamber

• China gaining market share: China was the largest Ecuadorian shrimp export destination in H1 2022, with a trade volume of 269 thousand mt and a trade value of $1.669 billion. Value more-than-doubled from H1 2021 (+101% YoY) while volume grew 69% YoY. In trade value, China represented 51% of all shrimp exports from Ecuador during H1 2022, up from 40% in the same period last year. 

• Value to other destinations continued to grow: In H1 2022, exports to the US grew in value by 34% YoY, exports to Spain 61% YoY, and exports to Italy 119% YoY. 

Source: Tridge and Ecuador National Aquaculture Chamber

Taking the most recent data from the US, which is Ecuador's second largest frozen shrimp export destination and one of the major importers of frozen shrimp around the world, we can see that Ecuador's main competitors for this product are: India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Argentina, Mexico, and Thailand. Ecuador is the only one in this group of countries which has gained relevant share in US imports. 

Source: Tridge and USDA

Source: Tridge and USDA