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C.J. Punnathara

Kochi , Sept. 14

THE relatively steady fall in Indian shrimp prices in the US markets have been arrested and some varieties have reported price recovery.

Sources in the trade are optimistic that this could prove to be the turning point for the export driven industry, with the festive season just around the corner.

Christmas and New Year are the biggest festivities in the US and Europe. This is when consumption of shrimp and other marine products, which are considered a delicacy, are on the rise in the US.

The price recovery is not restricted to imports from India alone but extends to the Gulf of Mexico white and brown shrimps, as well as to some individual varieties from Bangladesh and Thailand.

While a mixed trend was visible in Indian black tiger shrimp exports to the US, the prices of value-added peeled and de-veined varieties, both tail-on and tail-off varieties, have remained firm.

The price recovery was visible on the free-on-board (f.o.b) prices of frozen black tiger on a month-to-month basis between August 12 and September 9.

The average f.o.b prices for Indian frozen black tiger in the New York market for the 12/15 count recovered to $7.25 on September 9, against $7.20 for the week ending August 12. However, the price for the 16/20 count fell to $5.50 ($5.70), the 21/25 count recovered to $4.30 ($4.25) and the count recovered to $3.65 from the fall registered in earlier weeks.

Though the price for Indian white-farmed shrimp (vannamei) was not available for most counts, it has remained firm for the few counts for which price data is available.

Sources in export trade said if the price recovery was sustained in the coming weeks, the aquaculture farmer and the fishermen would stand to benefit along with the processor and the exporter. The exporter now had to not only bear the low prices but also the added burden of anti-dumping duties levied on Indian shrimp imports into the US.

Surprisingly, in the value-added segment, most counts of Indian peeled and de-veined shrimp, both the tail-on and tail-off varieties, have remained firm. There has been no price fluctuation on a month-to-month basis in the four-week price data available.

In the top-bracket cooked and peeled variety, India does not have a presence at all. This segment is dominated by Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam. Individual quick frozen is another segment where India does not figure.

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