The price is inverted, and the loss lasts for half a year. The quotation of Ecuadorian manufacturers fell sharply by 0.2-0.5 US dollars/kg. The US dollar exchange rate is high, and Chinese importers have little desire to place orders.
The quotation of Ecuador vannamei shrimp factory declined by 0.2~0.5 dollars/kg. The price of large-sized shrimps in India and Vietnam fell significantly.
Recently, the quotation of Ecuador vananmei shrimp manufacturers is chaotic, showing a downward trend as a whole. Compared with the quotation in late September, 30/40, 40/50 and 50/60 all declined by 0.2~0.5 USD/kg.
In addition to the slight increase of all types of vannamei shrimp produced in Malaysia, small and medium-sized white shrimp produced in India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand all showed a slight upward trend. However, in India and Vietnam, the large size of 30 heads/kg declined significantly, and the price of Black Tiger Shrimp also showed a small downward trend.
At present, Chinese importers are not enthusiastic about placing orders with Ecuador shrimp manufacturers. As the domestic market of China has sufficient shrimp stocks of all specifications, the Chinese market has not fully digested the concentrated imports in the first half of the year, so the importers are more cautious in ordering.
In 2022, the total amount of Ecuador vannamei shrimp imported by China increased significantly. In July and August, the total amount exceeded 50,000 tons.
Under the continuous influence of the epidemic, the overall consumption of China domestic catering is weak, which is the largest consumption channel of frozen shrimp.
In the first half of the year, most Chinese importers placed orders at a higher price and the cost was consequently high. Since June, the import cost has been inversely linked to the domestic market price. Take Santa Salt Frozen 1.65 and 40/50 vannamei shrimp as an example. When the Ecuadorian manufacturer quoted 6.4 US dollars/kg and the exchange rate of RMB to US dollars was 6.8, one carton (9.9kg/carton) was with a loss of 10-15 rmb, that means one container at least lost about 18,000-27,000 rmb as we don´t consider other costs such as customs clearance fees, nucleic acid epidemic prevention costs, refrigeration storage, domestic transportation and corresponding labor costs.
In addition to the pressure of price inversion, since the strong rise of the dollar exchange rate, many importers have suffered losses due to the exchange rate.
On October 13, the RMB stood at 7.18 against the US dollar, still at a high level. It is expected that the RMB exchange rate will remain in the range of 7.0 to 7.3 until the end of the year.
For the importer, the exchange rate at the time of ordering was only 6.8, but after the goods arrive at the port, according to the exchange rate now close to 7.2, the cost gap of a container of goods is 50,000 to 60,000 yuan, which will eat up all the profits of the importer, or even will lose money.
Therefore, under the pressure of low consumer market, slow turnover of goods, high capital pressure and high exchange rate, Chinese importers have a strong wait-and-see mood.