India’s frozen shrimp exports dived by 36% compared with December to 40,500 metric tons in January, according to preliminary trade data published by India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, compiled by Undercurrent News.
The largely seasonal decline saw India ship 22,400t less shrimp than the previous month. However, exports were up 6% compared with January of 2019.
The monthly decline follows comments from industry sources late last week that shrimp prices in India were relatively firm.
“The simple fact is that demand exceeds supply. Crisis? What crisis?” one UK supplier told Undercurrent, referring to the coronavirus outbreak which has spread globally from the initial outbreak in Wuhan, China.
This source said the global seafood trade is coping better with the ongoing coronavirus outbreak than is generally being reported.
He said farmed shrimp prices were not “crashing” across the board, with larger Indian shrimp actually firming in price. Undercurrent’s prices portal shows Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat prices have been flat for several weeks now.
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