Ecuador Surpasses India as Top US Import Origin of Frozen Shrimp, Set to Lead in 2023

Frozen Common Shrimp & Prawn

United States

Published May 15, 2023

Ecuador surpassed India as the top US import origin of frozen shrimp this March 2023. If the trend continues, 2023 will end with Ecuador at the top spot for the first time since at least 2012.

In March 2023, Ecuador surpassed India as the largest US import origin of frozen shrimp for the first time in a single month since June 2020. The import volume from Ecuador totaled 16.6 thousand mt (36.3% of the total share), while that of India’s amounted to 15.7 thousand mt (34.4% of the total share). Imports from the rest of the world totaled 13.4 thousand mt. In March 2022, Ecuador had 30.7% of the share, while India had 34.0%.

Source: Tridge and USDA

Ecuador is not only gaining market share against India, but also from Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and others. Among other major origins, only Mexico and Bangladesh retained the same market share in Q1 2023 compared to the same period in the previous year. On an annual basis, since at least 2012, Ecuador hasn’t been the leading origin, trailing Thailand in the top spot in 2012, and trailing India in the top spot from 2013 on.

The reason behind this is that the average import price of frozen shrimp originating from Ecuador has been consistently below those of its competitors. The lower import price corresponds to lower export prices from Ecuador, derived from greater production efficiency (due to recent improvements in genetics, health and feed). Its location also provides a logistical advantage to export to the US compared to Asian countries.

Source: Tridge and USDA

Nonetheless, India is implementing new measures to narrow the gap. In February, a new reduction in the import duty for fishmeal, which represents roughly one-third of farmed shrimp production costs, was announced. While still above $1.00 dollar, the average US import price from Indian-origin shrimp was at its narrowest since 2012 this Q1 2023. In addition, Ecuador faces higher production costs with the recent removal of a fuel subsidy.

Source: Tridge and USDA

Nonetheless, Ecuador is poised to take the top spot in US frozen shrimp import volume if current growth trends continue. Ecuador’s share has been growing at an average annual rate of 24% in the past twelve months, meanwhile, India’s has been declining by an average 6% rate in the same period, while the rest of the world’s by an average 8% rate. If the trend continues, total imports from Ecuador will represent 37% of the total by year-end, compared to 36% from India and 27% from the rest of the world. This contrasts to 2022’s 39.5% from India, 30.5% from Ecuador, and 30.0% from the rest of the world.