Sluggish Demand Weighs on Ecuador's US Shrimp Sales
Sluggish demand from buyers continues to weigh on Ecuador headless shell-on shrimp offerings to the US market. Prices for 26-30 count continued lower this week, reflecting a trend that is now established in both the Latin American and Asian white shrimp markets. John Sackton writes of the disconnect between the current spot offerings in the US that are definitely showing some weakness and the replacement costs from both in Ecuador and the Asian countries.
An ecosystem monitoring report conducted by NOAA on the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska shows how those waters continue to get warmer. This warming has been accompanied with expectations for declines in pollock and cod productivity out of those waters. Nevertheless, actual fish health was good on both pollock and cod with average weight at length above the long-term mean writes John Sackton.
In other news, India's decision to demonetize its currency is presenting shrimp producers in Andhra Pradesh and Godavari from buying feed and paying their workers. The Indian government decided earlier this month to pull over 80 percent of its bank notes from circulation in an attempt to stamp out fraud.
Meanwhile, China's Yuehai Feed Group announced a plan to invest $10 million in order to expand its shrimp and seafood feed production operations to India and Vietnam. Preliminary work is under way for a plant in Vietnam designed to produce 50,000 to 80,000 tons of shrimp and fish feed annually, said Han Shulin, vice-president of the group. For the plant in India, the group intends to work with a local partner. The first phase is expected to support an annual capacity of up to 60,000 tons of shrimp feed, Han said.
Finally, pangasius processors in Vietnam's Mekong Delta are reporting raw material shortages because local producers selling more of their fish directly to Chinese traders. VASEP says farmers are getting better prices for their harvest from Chinese buyers compared to Vietnam's processors.
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