Shrimp Market Report - January 2009
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Shrimp
situation extremely difficult
Europe and Japan
experienced a noticeable drop of their shrimp imports, while the US market
expanded slightly. At present, demand is reportedly very low on all three
major shrimp markets. Sharp cut backs in consumer purchases are expected.
Prices have started to decline in the second half of 2008, and exporters have
difficulties selling at the moment. The situation is not expected to improve
in the near future. The best solution for producing countries in the
developing world seems to be diversification, including exploration of the
domestic and regional market.
The market for shrimp in Europe is very
quiet
Demand for shrimp is decreasing on all major European markets although the
situation varies from country to country. Some have already technically
entered into recession and others have not, hence a difference in consuming
attitude. EUROSTAT figures show that for the third quarter of 2008, household
consumption expenditure remained unchanged in the Euro area and increased by
0.1% in the EU27. However, in recent months, European consumers have been
more cautious on their everyday requirements spending and are generally less
inclined to spend on expensive food commodities, such as shrimp. The market
for shrimp in Europe is very quiet although
sales are progressing in view of the festive season. The French market is
rather stable, with people continuing to go out to restaurants, the sector in
which shrimp is mainly consumed. Other markets, in particular Spain, Italy
and UK
are gloomier. In general, prices for shrimp are on a downward trend due to
decreasing demand, including in the USA, which has direct
repercussions on the other major shrimp markets.
Spanish shrimp imports collapse
Spain is under great economic pressure and although it remains the number one
market for shrimp in Europe, imports decreased in Jan-Sep 2008 by 9% on last year’s figures both in volume and value. Total
imports in the third quarter of 2008 were of almost 111 000 tonnes
corresponding to EUR 542 million.
Shrimp consumed in Spain
has essentially three different origins: China,
Ecuador and Argentina. These
three countries, in turns, took the lead among top suppliers in the last few
years, but have more recently shared an even 18% market share. The export
trend to Spain for each of
these three countries is distinct: China
observed rather stable figures while Ecuador
experienced a boom in its exports to Spain
(+33%), and Argentina
suffered a collapse of 26%. During the period under survey, China
exported almost 20 000 tonnes. According to CORPEI (Ecuadorian Export and
Investment Promotion Corporation), 52% of Ecuadorian shrimp is intended for
the EU market and more particularly for Spain
and Italy.
Spain
is the major market for Ecuadorian shrimp (19 600 tonnes in Jan-Sep 2008). Argentine
official figures indicate that Pleoticus muelleri landings recovered from June onwards after
catastrophic results at the beginning of the year, but were, however, 11%
lower than last year (40 000 tonnes landed in Jan-Sep 2008).
Apart from these three big players on the Spanish market, it is worth
mentioning that Thailand
increased by seven fold the volume of its exports to Spain as a result of the difficult US market. During
the period Jan-Sep 2008, Thailand
exported to the USA 6 000
tonnes less than during the same period in 2007, but compensated losses
somewhat with 2 700 additional tonnes to Spain.
The Italian shrimp market is shrinking
In the same way as Spain,
during the third quarter of 2008, Italy experienced a further 9%
decrease of its shrimp import volumes simultaneously with the first signs of
recession. Demand is continuing to decrease as Italian households turn away
from expensive products. Notwithstanding this difficult market, Ecuador managed to increase further its market
share on this market, facilitated by lower availability from Argentina and
by competitive prices. India
also noticeably increased its exports to Italy with a 30% gain, and
products with an average unit value as low as EUR 3.32/kg (EUR 1.15/kg cheaper
than Ecuadorian shrimp). Recently, cultivation of Vannamei
has been approved in India,
which will allow the country to diversify its shrimp production (mainly Black
Tiger) and to offer even more competitive products.
Shrimp demand in France stops progressing but remains rather good
Demand for shrimp on the French market is rather stable and import figures
for January-September show only a slight decrease compared to 2007 (-1% in
volume and -2% in value) for a total of 75 300 tonnes. The decrease concerns
only high-priced products such as processed shrimp (-12%), fresh shrimp
(-18%) and coldwater shrimp (-13%), which is not surprising in a period of
economic slow down. However, there is an exception to this trend: shrimp of Madacascan origin. With a unit value per kilo at around
EUR 8.50, Madagascan shrimp can be considered as a “luxury” product, and nevertheless French consumers
remain loyal to this product. Indeed, during the third quarter of 2008,
French imports from Madagascar
increased by 8%, bringing that country to the second position
among top shrimp suppliers to France.
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Latest EUROSTAT figures show that France has not entered into
technical recession and the GDP for the third quarter of 2008 continues to
show a positive trend at 0,1%. Household expenditure
figures remain positive (+0.2% for the third quarter of 2008) and people have
not markedly reduced going out to restaurants, the sector in which shrimp is
mainly consumed. Whole warmwater shrimp imports
continued to increase on the French market, with Ecuador consolidating further its
dominant market share (20% of total French shrimp imports). With 15 100
tonnes exported in January-September 2008, it increased by 40% the volume of
its exports compared to the same period last year, notwithstanding the slight
increase of average unit value of Ecuadorian products (+11 cents/kg).
German shrimp continues to expand somewhat
Although Germany,
the first biggest Eurozone’s
economy, has entered officially into recession, the gloomy situation has not
had a dramatic impact on the shrimp market. In the third quarter of 2008, the
economic situation put an end to the past-years’ tremendous escalation in shrimp imports,
but figures continue to show a slight expansion on last year’s
imports.
The great majority of shrimp consumed in Germany is of Asian origin. Thailand is
the leader on this market for whole frozen products but also in the prepared
and preserved sector where it represents 24% of the total volume imported. Thailand recently consolidated its market
share and during the period January-September increased by 13% the volume of
its total exports to Germany.
Thailand is followed by Viet Nam which, thanks to a 74% increase,
reached the second position among Germany
suppliers superseding India.
Lower volumes from almost all major shrimp suppliers to the UK
Third quarter 2008’s national
figures show that the shrimp market in the UK weakened markedly compared to
the same period last year. Both the frozen-whole sector (47% of total imports)
and the prepared/preserved sector (51%) suffered due to the present difficult
economic situation. However, the warmwater sector
was mostly hit (-10% on last year figures), while coldwater shrimp products
registered only a 4% decrease. Iceland
remains the number one supplier to the UK
market with a total of 10 800 tonnes corresponding to a 7% decrease on last
year figures while Danish exports (second supplier to the UK) remain
stable. The most drastic drops were observed for India
(-24% compared to last year) and Canada (-40%).
Gloomy outlook for the main shrimp markets
The EU is expected to see a further decline in imports, especially in the
Southern part of the continent. The opening months of the year are generally
a slow consumption period, thus no recovery in the shrimp market is likely to
occur in the coming months.
