The production blow to Thailand’s shrimp farms from early mortality syndrome (EMS) this year has created a domino effect for Ecuadorian producers, with some switching production from tilapia to shrimp as a result.
The dearth in supply is pushing Chinese buyers to call Ecuador for product, said the Ecuadorian farmer Omarsa.
Buyers that had never bought from Omarsa before are now hunting the company down to get product.
“We get 8-10 requests for shrimp every day from new buyers [in China],” Sandro Coglitore, general manager for Ecuador-based shrimp supplier Omarsa, told Undercurrent News.
Not only is it easy to make sales, the price is extremely attractive. “Prices are going up all over the board,” he said. “It’s crazy. They just want all shrimp.”
Prices are up across the globe. For HSLO vannamei from Indonesia, prices are up at $6 per pound currently, a significant improvement from $4.95 last year at this time.
Omarsa’s businesses focuses on shrimp exclusively, but for those that do both shrimp and tilapia, the shrimp is beginning to look much more attractive.
Swapping tilapia for shrimp
Ecuadorean supplier Santa Priscila is converting 40% of its tilapia farms to shrimp farms this year due to increasing demand from both Asia and conventional markets.
Santa Priscila’s tilapia farms are part of polyculture sites, which are also used for shrimp, and the company has plans to begin converting 40% of those shared sites exclusively to shrimp, Santa Priscila’s Roberto Coronel Kronfle told Undercurrent.
The company produces mangos, shrimp and tilapia. Tilapia brings in 12% of the sales that shrimp does, but it will be less once the conversion happens.
Francisco Murillo, chief business development officer for Regal Springs, said this switch is happening in Ecuador since the start of the year.
Murillo said he knew of one producer that switched from farming entirely tilapia to entirely shrimp, and he predicts the shift will create a noticeable shortfall of tilapia in the US market this year.
There already is a shortfall when compared to last year. Tilapia exports from Ecuador to the US took a 13% dive during the first four months of the year, dropping to 2,741t compared to 3,152t last year
Even more noticeable is the overall shortage of tilapia imports to the US for the period. Imports of tilapia overall are down 11% in the first four months of the year, from 72,300 metric tons last year to 63,900t this year.
In contrast, overall imports in 2012 were up 18%, to 227,442t, including a 225t increase from Ecuador, to 8,381t.
Regal Springs is planning to more than make up for the shortfall in tilapia from Ecuador with its new plant in Mexico, which it just finished production on in February. The plant currently is producing at a rate that would equal 3,500t per year at the outset, but it has the capacity to produce 14,100t eventually, said Murillo.
US shrimp imports through April were down almost 9%. From Ecuador, the shortfall was 11.8% year to date, with Ecuador shipments to the US totaling 52.9 million lbs.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Although Germany’s tuna imports have declined, Vietnam’s tuna exports to the market continue to show positive signs. Notably, export value recovered strongly in Q3/2026, and German import data also show Vietnamese products strengthening their position amid competition among suppliers.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Seafood exports are holding double-digit growth, but the opportunities are not spread evenly across product groups and markets. As businesses draw up their plans for 2027, Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026 (VSS2026) offers a chance to look ahead together: what to sell, where to sell it, and how to prepare for growth in the coming years.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) With less than two weeks to go, the Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026 (VSS 2026) will officially take place in Can Tho. Under the theme “Seafood Market Outlook 2027–2029 – Opportunities and Potential for Double-Digit Export Growth,” the Summit is organized by VASEP at a time when seafood businesses are facing rapid market shifts, changing buyer demand, trade policy changes and growing competitive pressure all at once.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On October 28, 2026, the China Fisheries & Seafood Expo opened in Qingdao, China. The expo takes place over three days from October 28 to 30, 2026. This is a prestigious specialized seafood exhibition organized annually by Sea Fare Exposition Inc.
(vasep.com.vn) In the first nine months of 2026, Vietnam’s tilapia exports to the CPTPP bloc reached $7 million, marking a 51% year-on-year increase. The bloc rstands as the fourth-largest market for Vietnamese tilapia, trailing Brazil, the US, and Saudi Arabia.
(vasep.com.vn) VASEP has officially announced the program for Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026 (VSS 2026), featuring five in-depth sessions covering industry outlooks, trade barriers, buyer demand, the domestic market, and solutions to improve productivity and reduce costs across the seafood value chain.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s shrimp exports reached US$3.7 billion in the first nine months of 2026, up 11% year on year. Although growth has been supported by China and several markets within the CPTPP, momentum is slowing as exports to the United States and the European Union decline. Tariff pressures, international competition, and raw material challenges are creating significant hurdles for exporters in the final months of the year.
(vasep.com.vn) Markets are changing faster, buyer requirements are becoming more demanding, and trade barriers are growing increasingly complex. In this environment, seafood businesses need more than an understanding of current market conditions. They need a longer-term perspective to answer a critical question: Where will growth opportunities come from in 2027–2029, and what should businesses do now to prepare? This is one of the key reasons why VASEP is organizing Vietnam Seafood Summit 2026.
(vasep.com.vn) In the first eight months of 2026, Vietnam’s pangasius exports to the Middle East reached US$113 million, up 7% year on year from the same period in 2025. Growth has become more pronounced in recent months. In August alone, exports to the region totaled US$20 million, an increase of 24%. This indicates that demand for Vietnamese pangasius in the Middle East is gradually recovering after a slowdown in March, although the pace of recovery varies across markets.
(vasep.com.vn) China’s shrimp imports continued to grow strongly in 2026, while Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the market also recorded notable growth. However, behind these positive figures lie two distinct trends: Chinese consumption is growing more slowly than imports, and lobster accounts for a substantial share of Vietnam’s shrimp exports to China, making its product mix significantly different from those of Ecuador and India. Exporters therefore need to assess each segment carefully to understand the opportunities and risks.
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