The value of tilapia coming into the United States fell 10.8 percent overall from January to April 2013 compared to the same time last year, according to statistics released by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).
About 73,061 metric tons of the fish came into the United States during the first four months of 2012, compared to just 64,673 metric tons in the first four months of this year.
Frozen tilapia fillet imports, coming mainly from China and Indonesia, also fell nearly 20 percent in value and went from 52,460 metric tons to 42,116 metric tons.
However, imports of fresh tilapia fillets, coming mostly from Ecuador and Honduras, skyrocketed 132.8 percent in value and 125 percent in tonnage, according to the NMFS statistics. The fresh fillets went from 4,249 metric tons during the first third of 2012 to 9,572 tons duringthe same time period in 2013.