Japan: October Sockeye Imports Fall 32%

According to trade statistics from the Ministry of Finance, total salmon and trout imports in October (including salted, smoked, and prepared products) increased 3% year-on-year to 19,435 tons, and the CIF import value increased 2% to 24,443 million yen ($155.19 million). Fillets (fresh, frozen, salted, and dried) increased 5% to 5,954 tons; other than fillets increased 2% to 13,482 tons, reported Minato Shimbun.

Frozen sockeye and coho salmon, other than fillets, decreased by 32% to 2,407 tons and 3% to 6,778 tons.

Other frozen Pacific salmon...

Japan: Russian Snow Crab Imports up 20% in January-October, Pushing Down US Imports by 30%

Snow crab imports are on the rise partly due to the influx of crab from the Barents Sea in Russia. According to trade statistics from the Ministry of Finance, imports of frozen snow crab from January to October were 17,618 tons, up 20% from last year. Of that, imports from Russia were 11,564 tons, up 20%, reported Minato Shimbun.

The winning bid price at an auction in Busan, South Korea, for new frozen opilio snow crab from the Russian...

NOAA Fisheries Unveils Action Plan for Enhanced Seafood Import Monitoring Program

NOAA Fisheries will implement an action plan to enhance its Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP).

Last November, NOAA conducted a comprehensive review of SIMP to identify areas for improvement. That led to engagement from over 7,000 stakeholders, including seafood industry professionals, foreign governments, researchers, and civil society groups.

Based on the input, NOAA has shaped an action plan that is “designed to strengthen its impact, focusing on combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and bolstering seafood traceability.”

NOAA Fisheries said it would work to limit the impact...

DOC Rescinds Antidumping Review on Chinese Shrimp Imports

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) rescinded the administrative review of the antidumping duty (AD) order on certain frozen warmwater shrimp from China for the period of review from February 1, 2023, through January 31, 2024, according to a notice published in the Federal Register.

In 2005, the DOC published an AD order on shrimp from China. This sparked the DOC to initiate an administrative review with respect to Chinese shrimp imports in April 2024. The following month, the DOC notified all interested parties of its intent to rescind the...

Russia Reduces Fish and Seafood Imports by 11% Through 9 Months

According to the latest statistics published by the Russian Fish Union, Russia reduced fish and seafood imports this year by 11% to 420,000 tons compared to 2022.

One reason for this decline was the drop in imports from the Faroe Islands and Chile, which were affected by logistical problems and difficulties with making payments.

According to local analysts, the Faroe Islands stopped signing new contracts for fish supplies to Russia after the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Now, only small batches can be delivered to the Russian Federation under...

ILA Dockworkers to Return to Work as Port Strike Ends Following Tentative Agreement

Dockworkers from the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) returned to work on Friday after reaching a tentative wage agreement with the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) Thursday, bringing an end to the three-day strike that halted shipping operations along the East and Gulf Coasts.

"Effective immediately, all current job actions will cease, and all work covered by the Master Contract will resume,” according to a joint statement issued by both parties Thursday. The Master Contract will be extended until January 15, 2025, giving negotiators additional...

Japan: Frozen Cod Imports Recover; Russia Totals Double in January-July, Dip from U.S.

According to trade statistics from the Ministry of Finance, the average price for frozen cod imports from January to July was 623 yen/kg ($4.38/kg), 2% lower than the same period last year, while the volume recovered to 2,102 tons, a 52% increase. Imports from Russia saw a 5% decrease in price to 597 yen/kg ($4.20/kg) and a 2.1-fold increase in volume to 1,635 tons. Imports from the United States saw an 11% increase...

ANALYSIS: U.S. Shrimp Imports Drop Sharply in June

In data released Tuesday, U.S. shrimp imports fell sharply in June compared to last year with broad losses in nearly all our top trade partners. Imports for the month fell 14 percent to 117.241 million pounds, from 136.278 million pounds last year. The impact of negative y-o-y data was seen in all the top five: India (-14.8%), Ecuador (-20.2%), Indonesia (-8.9%), Vietnam (-8.5%), and Thailand (-14.0%).

There were also losses from Argentina (-6.6%) and Mexico (-45.8%). The only gainer in...

ANALYSIS: China Slowing Shrimp Buying from Ecuador

Despite being the top importer, and still the number one partner with Ecuador, China shrimp imports continue to lag this year, putting pressure on shrimp producers from the region.

In 2023, total exports to China accounted for nearly 59%, with the United States a distance second at 17%. With the new data released from Camara Nacional de Acuacultura (CNA), exports to China in May 2024 were 153.419 million pounds. But the overall share has dropped to just over 53% through May, highlighting the shifting dynamics in the market. Exports shifted to...

ANALYSIS: Lower Imports of Lobster in the US and EU Markets, While China is Progressing

Anywhere in the world, lobster is placed at the high end of the crustaceans’ product range, regardless of its species: Caribbean, European or American/Canadian lobsters. China, the U.S., and the EU represent the three largest markets for its consumption.

According to Global Trade Tracker, when considering all species and all forms (live, frozen whole, tail or meat), the total volume imported in these three regions stood at 129.0 thousand metric tons last year. This is 3.4% lower than...

ANALYSIS: Countervailing Duties Reduction Would Have Significant Impact on Payments

As reported by SeafoodNews Managing Editor, Amanda Buckle, Jose Antonio Camposano, Executive President of Industry Association Camara Nacional de Acuacultura confirmed the yet unpublished report that Santa Priscila’s subsidy rate has been lowered.

To put this in perspective, here is a preliminary analysis of money that would be posted based upon data from 2023 imports. The red lines in the graph are estimated payments against last year’s total imports by company based upon the average price paid. The total paid would...

Import Ban on Russian Seafood Into U.S. Receives Extension To May

In the final days of 2023, President Joseph R. Biden signed an Executive Order on “taking additional steps with respect to the Russian Federation’s harmful actions.” The U.S. had already banned imports of Russian seafood, but the latest Executive Order closed a loophole that allowed Russian-caught seafood, processed in China, to enter the country. The government gave U.S. importers a deadline of February 21 to bring in any Russian-origin seafood that was already under contract or written agreement prior to December 22...

Japan's Imports of Russian Pacific Cod Surge 79% from January to October, Displacing US Cod by 17%

According to trade statistics from the Ministry of Finance, the average price per kilo for frozen cod imports from January to October was 620 yen ($4.13/kg), down 0.5% from the same period last year, while the volume recovered to 4,071 tons, up 42%. Imports from Russia increased, with the unit price falling 3% to 593 yen/kg ($3.95/kg) and the volume increasing 79% to 3,141 tons. Imports from the United States saw a unit price increase...

Nissui to Import 35 Tons of U.S. King Crabs at Record Domestic Price

Bristol Bay king crab's domestic wholesale price for both cooked and raw frozen has reached a new record high. Cooked brine-frozen (No. 1) and raw frozen are 16,000 yen/kg ($103.81/kg), 20-30% higher than last year. Nissui plans to import 35 tons of cooked and raw frozen crabs (47 tons last year). Several Japanese trading companies import Bristol Bay king crabs every year, but this year, as with last year when prices were high, it is believed that only Nissui is importing...

Japan: September Imports Dropped by 5% to 164,000 MT, Value Down by 6% to JPY 146 Billion

According to trade statistics released by the Ministry of Finance on October 30, the volume of fishery product imports in September (preliminary figures, fish and shellfish and their preparations, fishmeal and seaweed) was 163,968 tons, down 5% from the same month last year. Imports of major species such as fresh and frozen tuna, salmon and trout, and shrimp decreased. Imports of squid, crab, and octopus increased. The value was 146,478 million yen ($955.68 million), down 6%. Minato Shimbun described the details as...

Russia Steadily Increasing Shrimp Imports as Domestic Stocks Dip

Russia is steadily increasing imports of shrimp, mostly farm-raised product, as domestic stocks have substantially declined in recent years.

Currently, most wild shrimp in Russia are caught in the Far East. While aquaculture shrimp are much cheaper, they are not grown in the Russian Federation and are imported from abroad. In recent years, the market has faced a massive influx of such shrimp.

In general, prices for Russian shrimps (a significant part of which accounts for Far Eastern humpback shrimps) are 2.5 to 3 times higher than those of imported...

Hurricane Helene Intensifies U.S. Agriculture Disruptions As Port Strike Officially Starts

Hurricane Helene, a powerful Category 4 storm, made landfall in Florida's Big Bend region on September 26, 2024. The storm caused widespread destruction across the southeastern U.S., with the death toll approaching 125 as of this writing. 

Its damaging winds, storm surge, and flooding led to power outages and infrastructure damage in Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas–with the Carolinas seemingly suffering the greatest impacts. Parts of North Carolina are submerged under water, where roads have been washed out and properties have been flattened. As of October 1...

Japan: July Import Volume Up 21% to 180,020 MT, Value Rises 32% to JPY 184 Billion

According to preliminary trade statistics published by the Ministry of Finance on August 30, marine product imports increased 21 % year-on-year to 1820,000 tons in July. Primary products, such as salmon and trout, shrimp, crabs, squid, octopus, and fresh and frozen tuna, were brought in more than the same month of the previous year. The import value increased by 32 % to 184,057 million yen ($1,258.67 million).

Minato Shimbun reported that the volume of fresh and frozen tuna combined increased by 61% to...

ANALYSIS: June U.S. Shrimp Imports Expected to Decline

Expana’s Lead Analyst Angel Rubio forecasts June 2024 shrimp imports to come in at 122 million pounds, which would be a little over 10 percent below the 136.278 million pounds in June 2023.

This would bring the H1 total to 776.1 million pounds, down 2.3 percent from 794.601 million pounds in the first six months of last year.

Importers have been working on leaner inventories as the cost of capital and storage has increased and in country supplies have been good to meet current needs. However, challenges in...

ANALYSIS: EU Shrimp Imports Stable in Q1 Thanks to Spanish Market Boost

Between January and March 2024, the European Union imported 133k MT of shrimp of all species from any origin ex-EU. This represents a slight growth of 1.7% compared with Q1 last year, and a strong progression of 16.2% compared with the pre-COVID period of Q1 2019.

When looking at each country, the position of Spain as the largest importer of the region is confirmed again this year. First, its share of EU shrimp imports progressed from 27.1% in Q1 2023 to...

ANALYSIS: March U.S. Shrimp Imports Move Higher

In data released today, U.S. shrimp imports continued to move higher year-over-year behind a significant surge from the top two trade partners. Total March imports were 139.489 million pounds, compared to 129.469 million pounds in 2023. India (+24.6%), Ecuador (+24.6%), and Vietnam (+39.0%) all gained. These positive numbers shifted year-to-date figures to the upside for those three countries as well. Indonesia (-30.0%) and Thailand (-25.7%) shipped less rounding out the top five.  Mexico (-31.8%) and Argentina (-28.8%), while shipping less, were...

FSIS Issues Public Health Alert for Ineligible Frozen Siluriformes Products Imported from China

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has issued a public health alert for ineligible frozen siluriformes products imported from the People’s Republic of China. The alert covers 12 ounce plastic packages containing Frozen Striped Pangasius Maws. FSIS says these products were illegally imported from China to retail and wholesale locations in New York, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. 

Raw Siluriformes fish products from China can only be eligible for import into the United States if the raw materials originate from a certified...