The Shrimp blog
An Update of the US Major Shrimp Suppliers—Santa Priscila Turned into Unchallenged Leader
In April 2022, Angel Rubio from Urner Barry by Expana and I published a blog summarizing the companies driving US shrimp supplies. Two years later, we think it is time for an update. In this blog, I will present Angel’s analysis of Urner Barry by Expana’s Foreign Trade Database, enabling us to identify the US’s leading shrimp suppliers. We will first look at the top 15 suppliers in the US and then delve a bit deeper into the supply base in India, Ecuador, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Want to know more?! Contact Angel Rubio or me for further discussion.
In 2024, the Shrimp Blog is supported by: Inve Aquaculture, Taprobane Seafoods, DSM-Firmenich, Zeigler Nutrition, Bioiberica, Megasupply, American Penaeid, Omarsa and eFishery.
Disclaimer: The data presented in this blog is sourced from Urner Barry by Expana’s Foreign Trade Database, organized by Angel Rubio and Shrimp Insights on a best-efforts basis. A considerable portion of shrimp imported into the US is declared as “order.” This volume cannot be linked to a specific importer or exporter; therefore, the presented numbers may differ slightly from the actual numbers. Nevertheless, we are confident that these numbers provide a good insight into the exporters that lead the US shrimp supplies. Where possible, discrepancies between the reported and actual data are highlighted.
The US's 2023 Top 15 Shrimp Suppliers
In 2023’s top 15 US shrimp supplier list, India is represented by seven companies, Indonesia has four, Ecuador has two, and Vietnam has one (Figure 1). The most noticeable change among the US’s top shrimp suppliers is Santa Priscila's supply jump. The company saw imports into the US increase from almost 38,000 MT in 2021 to more than 82,000 MT in 2023. With this increase, Santa Priscila has taken over from Indonesia’s Bahari Makmur Sejati as the US’s biggest shrimp supplier and exports more than triple the volume of the second-biggest supplier to the US.
Source: Urner Barry by Expana Foreign Trade Database.
Processed by Urner Barry by Expana and Shrimp Insights
Note: The data presented in Figure 1 comes with some uncertainty surrounding the volume of product declared to customs as “Order” or “Shipping,” which Angel decided to exclude from his analysis as it could not be linked to any of the exporters. This volume for India is around 20%, Indonesia and Vietnam around 5 to 10%, and Ecuador 0%. However, there are some noticeable changes from the 2021 data we presented in an earlier blog. Companies absent in this figure, which, according to industry sources, should be there include Nekkanti Sea Foods and Falcon Marine Exports. These companies have possibly declared their goods under “Order” or “Shipping.”
If we take Angel’s data as a good indication of the reality of US shrimp suppliers, the total volume of the top 15 suppliers increased from 250,000 to 300,000 MT from 2021 to 2023, while the total US import volume in the US during this time dropped from 898,000 MT to 788,000 MT, which means that the market share of the top 15 suppliers grew from 28% to 38% of total imports—signaling the consolidation of US imports into a smaller group of companies that seems to be able to survive under current market conditions.
India
India remains the US’s largest shrimp supplier. In 2023, it supplied 296,000 MT, 38% of the US’s total shrimp imports. After a slight decline, imports now seem to stabilize.
In 2023, each of India’s top five suppliers to the US supplied more than 10,000 MT. Having in mind the fact that 20% of US imports from the US are not traceable to any of the companies, but in reality, some part of it should be allocated to the top 10, it might even be that each of India’s top 10 suppliers to the US supplied more than 10,000 MT each. These companies make up for at least 45-50% of the US’s total imports from India. The top 15 make up 55-60% of the total.
According to Angel’s data, the companies comprising the top ten (in order of size) are Sandhya Aqua, Devi Sea Foods, Devi Fisheries, Kader Exports, Sandhya Marines, Avanti Frozen Foods, Apex Frozen Foods, Sagar Grandhi Exports, Asvini Fisheries and Ananda Group. Companies that I had expected to be among the top 10 of India’s suppliers to the US but are absent include Nekkanti Seafoods and Falcon Marine Exports. This is most likely due to the declaration of their orders as “Order/Shipping.” They are definitely among India’s largest suppliers to the US.
I estimate that the dependency of most of India’s major suppliers on the US ranges from around 50% for the most diversified companies to over 75% for the least diversified companies. Generally speaking, Indian companies’ dependence on the US is much larger than that of their competitors from Ecuador.
Ecuador
Ecuador’s exports to the US are growing. In 2023, imports to the US reached 206,000 MT, equal to 26% of the US’s total shrimp imports.
Ecuador’s supply base to the US is narrow compared to India's regarding the companies involved. Santa Priscila represents around 40% of Ecuador’s total exports to the US, and Songa represents 10%. The top 10 contributes 65-70% of the total, and the top 15 contributes even 75-80%. Supplies from Ecuador to the US are much more consolidated than from India.
By comparing Angel’s data for US imports with Gabriel Luna’s data for Ecuador’s exports, we get a good view of how important the US is for Ecuador’s exporters. Don’t take it as an exact science, as Gabriel’s data are Ecuador's exports, and Angel’s data are US imports, meaning that some of Gabriel’s data for 2023 fit into Angel’s data for 2024. But it’s a good indication.
According to these numbers for Santa Pricila, the US represented around 35-40% of its total export volume in 2023. This is the highest percentage among Ecuador’s five largest shrimp exporters. Songa, the second biggest supplier from Ecuador to the US, shipped more than 20,000 MT in 2023 (up from around 16,000 MT in 2022), representing only around 20% of its total exports.
The other companies that complement Ecuador’s top 10 suppliers to the US in 2023 (in order of size) are Empacreci, Posorja Proposorja (NIRSA), Omarsa, Propemar, Frigopesca, Prodex, Edpacifc, and CEA. Each company exported between 4,000 MT and 7,000 MT to the US in 2023. Their dependence on the US ranges from around 5% (OMARSA) to 40% (Frigopesca).
Some other well-known Ecuadorean exporters, such as Expalsa, are not visible in Angel’s list of the US’s significant suppliers, meaning that they supplied less than 1,500 MT or that some of their volume is declared under “order/shipping.”
Indonesia
Indonesia’s exports to the US are falling. In 2023, the US’s imports from Indonesia reached only 146,000 MT, 19% of the US’s total imports. No other country is so dependent on the US for its exports. In 2023, the US represented 65% of Indonesia’s total shrimp exports.
Indonesia is even more consolidated in terms of its supply base to the US than Ecuador. Although the most prominent players are nowhere close to Santa Priscila’s numbers, Indonesia dominates the top 5 and top 10 suppliers to the US, with two and four companies, respectively. According to Angel’s data, Bumi Menara Internusa and Bahari Makmur Sejati were the most significant suppliers, with more than 20,000 MT each. However, with around 15,000 MT each, First Marine Seafoods and Sekar Bumi also account for substantial volumes. These four companies' dependence on the US may be around 80-90%, if not more.
A big gap exists between these four major suppliers and the companies that complement the top 10. In order of size, Mega Marine Pride, Wirontono Baru, Samudra Seafoods, Panca Mitra Multi Perdana, Grahamakmur Ciptapratama (Indokom Group), and Surya Alam Tungal each supplied between 2,500 and 7,000 MT of shrimp to the US.
Vietnam
Last year, Stapimex was accompanied by Minh Phu, one of the top 15 suppliers in the US. However, amidst the sharp decline in Vietnam’s overall shrimp exports in 2023, Minh Phu’s exports to the US dropped back to around 7,000 MT, making it fall out of the top 15 suppliers list. Stapimex’s export volume to the US also dropped from around 15,000 MT in 2021 to around 10,000 MT in 2023. However, with this volume, the company still occupies the 10th position.
