The total volume of US seafood imports climbed 0.34percent during the first quarter of 2013, while the value of theseimports fell 3.1 percent to $3.9 billion (€3 billion).
Imports from China rose from 138,885 metric tons during the first quarter of 2012 to more than 140,600 metric tons, worth $647 million (€496.7 million), in Q1 of 2013.
US seafood imports from Chile climbed nearly 31 percent in Q1 2013 compared to the previous year. During the first three months of this year, the United States imported more than 42,000 metric tons of seafood, worth more than $318 million (€244.1 million) from Chile.
Imports from Canada fell during the first quarter from 65,726 metric tons in 2012 to 60,357 metric tons this year.
Q1 imports this year were valued at more than $408 million (€313.2 million).
Imports from India climbed from 14,147 metric tons in Q1 2012 to 21,312 metric tons this year, a slightly more than 50 percent increase. The increase was driven in part by a jump in imports of frozen, peeled warmwater shrimp and other shrimp products. The value of India’s Q1 exports to the United States exceeded $172 million (€132 million)
US tilapia imports dip slightly in Q1
US importers took in 53,390 metric tons of tilapia in the first quarter, worth $231.3 million (€176.8 million), a 4 percent drop in volume over the same period last ear, and a 4.5 percent reduction in value.
Once again, China topped the supply of the fish, primarily in the form of frozen fillets, exporting 38,366 metric tons worth $141.1 million (€108 million). The numbers are a steep drop from the same period last year, when Chinese imports reached 42,747 metric tons in the firs quarter of the year, worth $168.9 million (€129.1 million). The first quarter figures are 10 percent lower than the same period last yearin volume, and 16 percent lower in value.
The second-largest supplier of the fish in the first quarter of this year was Indonesia, which shipped2,438 metric tons worth $16.9 million (€12.9 million).
Fresh on the slight upswing
Volumes of fresh imports grew slightly from most countries, though Ecuador slipped:
◦ Honduras shipped 2,296 metric tons of the fish, worth $17.9 million (€13.7 million), compared with 2,043 metric tons worth $16 million (€12.2 million) last year
◦ Ecuador shipped 2,145 metric tons of the fish, worth $13.8 million (€10.5 million), against 2,466 metric tons worth $15.5 million (€11.8 million)
◦ Costa Rica sent 1,698 metric tons worth $12.7 million (€9.7 million)
◦ Exports from Columbia have climbed, with 900 metrictons worth $7.2 million (€5.5 million) being shipped in the quarter, up from 675 metric tons worth $5.1 million(€3.9 million).
Combined, tilapia imports from those countries reached just over 7,000 metric tons, worth $51.6 million (€39.4 million) in the first quarter of this year, up from5,211 metric tons last year worth $36.8 million (€28.1 million) -- a value increase of 28.7 percent.
*The US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) statistics show Costa Rica's fresh tilapia exports tothe at 27 metric tons worth $185,155 (€141,490) last year. One tilapia importer told IntraFishthese figures were incorrectly categorized, however, so Costa Rica's volume and value changes are unavailable, and the originally reported increase was incorrect