(SeafoodSource) U.S. shrimp imports remain on track to exceed last year’s total of nearly 1.27 billion pounds, according to figures released on Wednesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Fisheries Service.
Through the first five months of 2012, U.S. shrimp imports totaled 434.9 million pounds, up 5.2 percent from the same period last year, reported NOAA Fisheries.
In May alone, they totaled 83.6 million pounds, up 1.7 percent from May 2011. U.S. shrimp imports have increased in four of the last five months; in March, they fell just slightly (0.1 percent).
Through May, shrimp imports from only one of the United States’ top eight shrimp suppliers dropped year-on-year. Shrimp imports from Thailand, the No. 1 supplier to the U.S. market, were down 21.9 percent to 106.1 million pounds.
Picking up the slack were Ecuador at 78.4 million pounds (up 27.3 percent), Indonesia at 70.5 million pounds (up 8.4 percent) and India at 35 million pounds (up 35.5 percent). Rounding out the top eight were Vietnam (30.3 million pounds), China (29.6 million pounds), Mexico (23.1 million pounds) and Malaysia (20.8 million pounds). Figures for June and the first half of 2012 are due to be released by NOAA Fisheries on 9 August.