China Market: South American White Shrimp 30/40 Specs Fall 2-3 RMB, Ace 40/50 Out of Stock and Firm!

This week the port white shrimp market continued to weaken, with 30/40 specs showing the most obvious decline. In Jinan, Shenyang and other markets, Santa 30/40 fell from 340—345 yuan/carton to 330—335 yuan/carton, and Ace 30/40 fell from 290—293 yuan/carton to 288—290 yuan/carton, down 2—3 yuan from last week. Ace 40/50 moved the opposite way, with ports still short of stock, and the Chengdu market rose from 275 yuan/carton to 280—282 yuan/carton.

The continued slide in 30/40 specs is mainly due to ample supply combined with slow downstream movement. End-user consumption is overall weak at present, e-commerce channel sales this year fell short of expectations, and the order volume reported at last week's fishery expo was limited. Customers are cautious in placing orders, mainly worried about whether goods can arrive at port before the New Year.

Ecuadorian exporters' offers remained at last week's levels. Industry monitoring shows that a sales manager at a large Ecuadorian exporter said quotes were flat versus last week, and although some discounts were offered to customers, they were still pushing for higher transaction prices. Heavy rain and power rationing have raised costs for Ecuadorian producers, and exporters hope buyers will understand this extra pressure.

Ecuador's shrimp industry is bearing the cost pressure of the power crisis. A notice from the National Chamber of Aquaculture (CNA) dated October 14 shows that deeper power rationing has put the industry chain in a critical situation: medium-voltage users have had power cut for one week starting October 14, with supply not restored until 6 a.m. on October 21. Ecuador's power regulator has raised electricity prices for high-voltage users from October to December to about 0.30 USD/kWh, diesel supply has become difficult, and self-generated power costs have become an extra burden on the farming segment.

Ecuador's week 45 head-on shell-on shrimp pond prices remained stable. 30/40 specs were quoted at 3.05 USD/kg, 40/50 at 2.70 USD/kg, 20/30 at 3.50 USD/kg, and 60/70 at 2.50 USD/kg, all flat week on week across specs. Farmers said on November 2 that the power shortage affects shrimp transport and cold storage capacity, but market shrimp stocks are ample, and prices are expected to stay low in the near term. Ecuador is the world's largest shrimp exporter, exporting nearly 450,000 tonnes in the second quarter of this year, up 14% year on year.

On domestic pond prices, Beihai in Guangxi, affected by climate fluctuations and problem shrimp hitting the market, saw 30-count fall to 19 yuan/jin, down 0.5—1.5 yuan from last week; Weifang in Shandong saw increased output of factory-farmed shrimp, with 30-count falling to 14 yuan/jin. Zhangpu in Fujian held steady at 16—17 yuan/jin for 30-count, Yancheng in Jiangsu held steady at 15.5 yuan/jin for 30-count and Rudong small-greenhouse 30-count at 16.5 yuan/jin, while in the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong, pond stocks declined and Zhuhai 30-count rebounded to 17 yuan/jin. Even with large-size shrimp supply somewhat tight, prices overall lack upward momentum.

The market's hopes for the outlook rest on cooler weather. The industry widely expects demand to recover after temperatures turn cooler from late November to December. On the importer side, domestic supply of some specs is tightening, with restocking signals already appearing in 40/50 specs, while 20/30-count specs remain under pressure.

LTL price summary (November 5, yuan/carton): Jinan Santa salted 30/40 at 330, Ace salted 30/40 at 288—290, Ace salted 40/50 at 275; Hebei Ace salted 30/40 at 285, Shrimp King water 30/40 at 340, Shrimp King water 40/50 at 300; Zhengzhou Ace salted 30/40 at 290, Ace salted 40/50 at 275; Chengdu Ace salted 30/40 at 290, Ace salted 40/50 at 280—282; Kunming Santa salted 30/40 at 340, Santa salted 40/50 at 305; Shenyang Santa salted 30/40 at 335, Santa salted 40/50 at 298.