The US and China are importing record volumes of shrimp and almost all types of shrimp have witnessed record high price levels, even with record volumes shipped from exporting countries, Incred Equities’ Nitin Awasthi told FE.
Indian shrimp are moving to places where the prices of animal proteins such as beef, pork and poultry are moving north because of supply shortages and shipping restrictions in the global market. The US and China are importing record volumes of shrimp and almost all types of shrimp have witnessed record high price levels, even with record volumes shipped from exporting countries, Incred Equities’ Nitin Awasthi told FE.
He added that according to the latest data, the US imported a record 78,716 tons of shrimp in January at a unit value of $9.5 per kg, up from 69,653 tons in the same period a year ago and at a unit value of $8.6 per kg. kg. India’s share stands at 29,518 tons, compared to 27,458 tons in January 2021. In CY2021, Indian shrimp exports to the US market reached 340,387 tons, up from 271,839 tons in 2020.
“Meat prices, including seafood, have risen in the US due to a labor shortage. The impact of the current geopolitical problems is still not affecting meat prices. Fuel prices are rising and the impact on meat prices is visible. better demand for ready-to-eat and cooked products for the retail segment, rather than for the food service segment, as was the case during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
“Demand for shrimp is on the higher side in most markets. The trend was visible from the second half of last year and showed a stronger trend this year, especially from the US market. Demand is also high in the regions of China, the Far East and the Middle East. I expect shrimp prices to remain on the high side throughout the year. Supply and demand dynamics are in favor of shrimp farmers,” said Shaji Baby John, chairman and director of aquaculture company Kings Infra ventures.
Akeel Zafar of RF Exports, which mainly exports to the European market, said the demand is good and the price is also solid despite difficulties in getting containers and shipping. He added that higher export demand has led to an increase in the price of shrimp from the farm.
“Demand in the US is still good and prices are firm. Prices were very high in the global market for a while and have corrected. Demand from China has slowed down a bit and there are many restrictions on exports to China,” said Anwar Hashim, General Manager of Abad Fisheries.
He added that Indian shrimp production has risen to 7,50,000 tons, while Ecuador has crossed the one million tons mark. Shaji said shrimp farmers are supplying the farms at full capacity due to good demand. “The price also remains on the higher side helped the farming business to gain full traction now as this is the peak supply period. The hatcheries are fully stocked and geared to the high demand from the farms. Overall, it looks like It’s going to be a great year for shrimp farmers due to continued demand, high prices and good seed quality,” he added. Awasthi estimates that production could reach an all-time high with good breeding stock imports.
“In the third quarter, India witnessed record brood stock (parent stock) imports of 38,950 units in November (49% yoy growth) and 40,720 units in December (up 17% yoy), respectively. These imports were due to the high demand from the farming community for shrimp seeds. Record storage by farmers should, in our view, result in a record crop depending on disease outbreaks,” he added.
This post Rising animal protein prices open up Indian shrimp offshore market
was original published at “https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/soaring-prices-of-animal-proteins-open-up-offshore-market-for-indian-shrimp/2464671/”
