Ecuador: Shrimp Ahoy - Ecuador Shrimp Sector Update
FAS Quito estimates that Ecuador’s calendar year (CY) 2015 shrimp production to reach 350,000 metric tons (MT), up 10,000 MT or an increase of three percent compared to 2014. Strong U.S. import demand for shrimp over the past five years, combined with a drop in Asian shrimp production due to the outbreak of early mortality syndrome (EMS), has facilitated Ecuador’s export growth. Ecuador’s CY 2014 shrimp exports reached 299,000 MT (approximately $2.6 billion). Shrimp exports to the United States in CY 2014 came in at 88,859 MT (a record $901 million). Shipments to the European Union (EU), which absorbs a third of Ecuador’s shrimp exports, hit 93,271 MT. We estimate overall CY 2015 exports at 308,000 MT. In CY 2014 Ecuador’s shrimp industry used 57,900 MT of U.S.-origin soybean meal, utilizing also about 132,940 MT of U.S.-origin wheat as a feed ingredient.
