US Imports in January 2024 touched base at 59,629 MT with a 15% decline from January 2023 imports registering the lowest import volume in January since 2019.

The smallest category of breaded shrimp import volumes doubled compared to January 2023, all other specific products like HLSO dropped year-on-year by 28% and value added shrimp products dropped by 37% while the most significant
peeled category fell by 12%.

Among the top five suppliers, 26% drop was by Thailand, India fell by 18%, and Indonesia fell by 20% year-on-year. Ecuador registered a 6% drop in supplies while Vietnam’s fell by 5%.
If we analyse for India, the largest supplier of peeled products, the average import value per kilogram was at $6.90, 14% below January 2023 and 1% below December 2023.

On analysing shell-on products (HOSO and HLSO combined), for Ecuador, the largest supplier of these products, the average value was at $6.47, 4% above January 2023 and 5% above December 2023.

The real reason behind the drop in US imports may partly be due to the indecision regarding the anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases. The preliminary rulings of these cases are expected in the next couple of months.