The Сhinese vannamei import market is in a mess!
Indian vannamei shortage in China made the importers and processors suffer a lot due to the supply issue and the temporary restriction.
Vannamei price increase, import volumes done
According to the latest data from China Customs, 43,000 tons of products arrived in Hong Kong in May, a YoY decrease of 19%. Imports amounted to 250 million U.S. dollars, a YoY decrease of 20%. Compared with April, the average unit price of imports increased by 0.29$/kg to 5.82$.
In the first five months of 2021, China’s imports totaled 221,100 tons, a year-on-year decrease of 16%. In May, China’s largest shrimp supplier country, Ecuador, arrived at 24,000 tons. It’s 2,000 tons lower than April’s 26,000 tons and a year-on-year decrease of 17%.
However, the decrease in the importing number does not mean the price is lower. Due to the price in June, Ecuador’s price increased a lot and the orders are full. As we mentioned in the article Ecuador is more likely to be the winner of the vannamei race in Q2, 2021!, it’s for sure that Ecuador’s vannamei price will increase.
Gare price also increase for Ecuador
As of the 24th week of 2021 (June 14-20), the average price of Ecuadorian Vannamei from the pond has risen to 20/30 USD 6.50/kg; 30/40 USD 6.00/kg; 40/50 5.30 USD/kg; 50/60 USD 4.80/kg; 60/70 USD 4.20/kg; 70/80 USD 3.60/kg this week. The price of 80/100 shrimps remained flat at US$3.00/kg; 100/120 US$2.70/kg; 120/140 US$1.90/kg.
Slow inspection and clearance, the ratio of positive is high
Chinese importers and processors in China have already be used to the price ups and downs. But now they need to face another issue: the clearance and the shipment. Due to the Zhanjiang port’s import ban, almost all the frozen seafood will not enter Zhanjiang. But for these already in the Zhanjiang port, their clearance and inspection are being slow because every container will fully inspect the packages. As before, it randomly picks several amounts.
In this case, the container needs to stay in the port longer, and the test for positive is higher at a certain point. Many containers stuck in the port and will cost more for the storage fee, warehouse fee, and additional inspection fee. The most are the ratio for the positive now is 9/1000 containers.
Every container cost way much more than before to go throght the boarder.
Averagely there is an extra 30,000 RMB fee in each container for the importers. And these days, most of the port has slow down the speed of clearance. Since the shortage of the Indian vannamei, these factories, who usually import the Indian vannamei, have to compete with the US and EU demand and grab orders from these factories, which export to the US and EU market.
The demands from the US and EU are enormous, and the exporters still can have a lot more room to decide whether to export their products to China. Even if they get the orders, they still need to figure out how to export to China and avoid the acid test positive and go through the border. That’s why the vannamei price is getting higher for the Chinese market. On the other hand, many exporters are on the blacklist for the virus issue. There are fewer choices for the importers now.
With the temporary ban on importing and the lack of vannamei supply, the importers and processors will have a long suffer there. Exporters hesitate to export to China, and importers hesitate to import to China. This is not the situation we want to see for the vannamei business in China. After the 15th of July, we hope this situation could improve a bit.
Several cases of virus in the outpack of the container found in the boarder
Several batches of Indian vannamei shrimp have been tested positive, and the current customs policy is to return the container. This makes many importers feel a bit risky when placing orders for Indian vannamei shrimp. Since India’s exporters that can accept nucleic acid clauses are now almost zero, Indian exporters follow payment terms upon arrival. This return method will put massive pressure on the importers.
Domestic market will profit from this trend.
As Ecuador focuses more on supplying the US and European markets, it is not very active in providing to the Chinese market. In a certain sense, this is a good thing for Chinese domestic vannamei shrimp.
The domestic shrimp production season is coming soon, and the demand is super high throughout the summer. Therefore, the domestic vannamei shrimp is bound to affect its price and supply this time positively. As a result, domestic shrimp prices will rise again. But for those who rely on the imported material, it takes time to go through this situation.