Industry expert says buyers better get used to skyrocketing shrimp prices. The shrimp shortage resulting from the spread of Early Mortality Syndrome (EMS) across Asia is set to last at least a couple of years, "maybe longer" according to Matthew Biggs, an aquaculture consultant for Ridley Aquafeed with more than a decade of experience in the southeast Asian shrimp industry.

(vasep.com.vn) In the first 4 months of 2013, Vietnam’s shrimp exports reached over US$619 million, representing an increase of 0.8 percent over the same period of 2012. Therefore, shrimp shipment to some main markets showed a recovery.

Fresh and frozen tuna dominated the exports of eight types of fishery commodities from Bali in value, Teneng said. Tuna exports, fresh and frozen, totaled 5,114 tons valued at USD 28.36 million (RM92.96 million) in the January-May period, he noted.

Australian fish farmers and Japanese importers have agreed on a price of 1,350 yen per kilogram for southern bluefin tuna, down 20% from a year ago, reflecting soft demand.

(vasep.com.vn) Many Vietnamese tuna exporters are currently facing difficulties due to lack of raw material for processing. Since the beginning of 2013, domestic landings of ocean tuna have decreased sharply.

Demand for canned tuna worldwide is likely to remain rather flat, despite the likelihood that prices will increase, according to Globefish’s May 2013 tuna report.

Between 1 January and 30 May, 2013 Argentinean maritime ports received a total of 314,733.9 tonnes of fishing resources. This figure shows a 4.2 per cent rise compared to the cumulative volume between the first day of 2012 and 31 May of that year, when 301,771.1 tonnes were landed.

(seafood.com) Despite growth in export volumes, the Chilean fishmeal industry has reported a decline in export values through July 2012 due to falling prices.

Chilean salmon exports to the US continued to surge through October 2012 as the total export value also declined.

Exports of fishery products and aquaculture in Chile reached in the first 10 months of 2012 a value of USD 3,806.6 million. This represents an increase of 1 per cent over the same period in 2011, when they totalled USD 3,770.7 million.

Chilean mussel export volumes and values have improved in 2013 compared to year ago levels according to recent data from InfoTrade.

The OECD/FAO ten year food supply outlook is being published June 26th. Summaries have shown the economists expect a strong continued growth in fisheries. This will result both in higher supply and higher prices.

(pangasius-vietnam.com) Thailand’s frozen pangasius fillets (HS0304) has been on downtrend while imports of this product are strongly increasing. The current stronger Thai baht against U.S. dollar made many local processors reduce or even stop production in absence of new orders. Some companies intended to close their operations if the value of baht continues to soar higher. Thai fishery industry is asking governement to take measures to stabilize its currency in order to keep domestic fish production on track.

To counter the shrinking of the US catfish business, many traditional catfish companies have broadened their product mix in an effort to grow larger and more diverse.

The average price of fillets –basa and panga- imported in April was USD 3,167/t, down 1% on that of March and 14% on that of April 2012. During the first four months of the year the average was USD 3,217/t, down 14% on that of the same period last year.