US shrimp imports surged 27 percent year over year in November 2023

The U.S. imported a total of 149 million pounds, or 70,680 metric tons (MT), of shrimp in November, a 27 percent increase from the 117 million pounds (63,534 MT) imported in November 2022 – but down from the 167 million pounds (76,187 MT) the country purchased in October 2023.

Between January and November 2023, the U.S. imported 1.59 billion pounds of shrimp (720,668 MT), which was short of the 1.7 billion pounds (776,036 MT) it imported between January and November 2022.

India, Ecuador, and Indonesia maintained their positions as the top three shrimp-exporting nations to the U.S. in November 2023 in volume terms.

The fourth top shrimp exporter to the U.S. in November 2023 was Vietnam, which shipped 12.9 million pounds (5,891 MT) of shrimp to the U.S. – up from 11.9 million pounds (5,433 MT) in November 2022, and also higher than the 11 million pounds (5,020 MT) the Southeast Asian country exported to the U.S. in October 2023.Next in the rankings was Thailand, which shipped 6.9 million pounds (3,142 MT), which is up from the 6.7 million pounds (3,065 MT) it exported in November 2022, but less than the 8.7 million pounds (3,982 MT) it exported in October 2023.Mexico sent 4.5 million pounds (2,042 MT) of shrimp to the U.S., which is a lower total than November 2022's 5.6 million pounds (2,547 MT), but higher than its total in October 2023 of 3.3 million pounds (1,509 MT).Argentina was seventh in the rankings, exporting 2.9 million pounds (1,335 MT) to the U.S., marking an increase from its total in November 2022 of 2.4 million pounds (1,098 MT). In October 2023, Argentina sent 3.1 million pounds (1,412 MT) of shrimp to the U.S.China was eighth in the volume ranking, exporting 491,000 pounds (223 MT) of shrimp to the U.S., slightly lower than the 504,000 pounds (229 MT) it exported in both November 2022 and October 2023, respectively.

On 8 January 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released information on 74 seafood entry line refusals it conducted in December 2023, with Indian, Thai, and Ecuadorian shrimp exporters in particular called out for exporting shrimp containing banned antibiotic contaminants.Calcutta Seafoods, based in Calcutta, India, received an import alert concerning four shipments on 19 December containing nitrofurans. It also had an additional three entry lines refused for shrimp contaminated with nitrofurans and veterinary drug residue.