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Monday, June 22, 2015

The World Shrimp Prices



In his weekly, free, email letter, Kens Catch, Ken Salzinger reports: “Week after week, I am amazed at how much news is out there concerning shrimp prices, the latest being one that concerns buyers waiting on the sidelines for the “big buy”.  By this we are referring to purchases made by buyers during June for the holiday season.  In light of the continuous decline in pricing, both overseas and domestically, buyers are waiting to see when prices finally hit bottom.  Considering that we are entering the major harvest season in Asia, the question remains will we see a bump in production or will we see product from overseas decline.  Some importers are indicating that product will be short, especially from India, as production out of this market may be at the same level as last year or possibly less.  In light of this, some importers believe that prices may start to firm as we head into the summer.   However, there are still several factors which will affect the market, not the least being the glut of shrimp that remains in cold storage facilities. Moreover, even if India does not meet last year’s exports, we still have Indonesia, currently the #1 supplier to the USA, and Ecuador, which will probably see less of a demand out of China.  Last, the strength of the dollar plays into the USA’s hands as markets such as Japan and the European Union will most likely bring in less product.  As mentioned in previous updates, I will be preparing a schedule of shrimp prices using pre-EMS pricing of 2013 as a base and comparing January 2015’s prices to where they are after 6 months.  This will provide an indicator of how far prices have dropped and whether we are at 2013’s levels yet.  ...If you would like a copy, let me know.”

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