Over the last 1.5 months, Ecuadorian farms have reported an outbreak of harmful Chattonella algae, which can cause mortality in vannamei shrimp.
One company has already harvested 120 hectares in response to the outbreak, leading to an immediate increase in product arriving at factories. However, if the mortality rate remains high, Ecuador’s long-term shrimp production may decrease, resulting in fewer shrimp. It’s worth noting that while this could impact the increase in shrimp production in 2023, Ecuador has consistently increased its farmed quantity each year.
How will this affect prices?
On the short term:
We already know that prices have stopped increasing and have even decreased slightly.
Due to a long holiday in Ecuador, prices haven’t changed much over the past few days.
For the long term:
Depending on the severity of the outbreak, this will vary. According to some farmers, this problem will be resolved by the upcoming rains.