China’s General Administration of Customs released the latest import data for August today. China’s imports of frozen warm water shrimp in August hit a record high as importers stocked up for the Mid-Autumn Festival and China’s domestic production was lower than expected.
China’s imports slowed at the beginning of the year, but rebounded sharply this summer as domestic production failed to meet market demand. In July, China imported 93,000 metric tons (mt), a record for the country’s imports. Imports of frozen warm-water shrimp reached 95,000 mt in August, increasing again on the basis of July and an increase of 89% over August last year.
Bad weather and shrimp disease outbreaks plagued shrimp farmers in the South of China this summer, causing the survival rate of farmed vannamei to drop to 20-30% in some areas. It coincided with a surge in imports from Ecuador and India.
In August, China imported 23,500 mt of Indian shrimp, up 50% from July. Meanwhile, Ecuador’s imports fell 4% from July to 57,000 mt.