Indonesia's White Shrimp Exports to China Drop Sharply!

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Indonesia's White Shrimp Exports to China Drop Sharply!

In the first two months of 2025, Indonesia's overall white shrimp export volume grew 19% year-on-year to 36,082 tonnes, but export performance to the Chinese market clearly lagged, especially in January 2025, when it fell 32% year-on-year, showing that China, one of Indonesia's traditionally important markets, is undergoing a change in status.

Exports to China Fluctuate Sharply, Market Share Tends Toward Marginalization

Data show that Indonesia's white shrimp exports to China fell sharply in January to only 1,079 tonnes, down 32% year-on-year. Although exports surged to 1,381 tonnes in February, up 631% year-on-year, this was mainly due to an extremely low base in the same period last year. Combined for January-February, Indonesia's total white shrimp exports to China were 2,460 tonnes, up 39% year-on-year, but they still accounted for a very low share of its overall export structure, only 6.8% of total exports.

By comparison, the United States remained Indonesia's largest shrimp export market, with cumulative exports of 23,802 tonnes in January-February, accounting for as much as 66%. Exports to the EU, Canada and other markets also posted considerable growth during the same period:

Market

January-February 2025 export volume (tonnes)

Year-on-year growth rate

United States

23,802.1

+19%

Japan

5,230.4

+8%

China

2,460.4

+39%

EU

1,596.6

+60%

Canada

814.3

+226%

Product Structure Upgrade Drives Overall Export Growth

The momentum behind Indonesia's export growth this time came mainly from high value-added products, among which:

• Cooked & Marinated shrimp exports reached 10,483 tonnes, up 35% year-on-year;
• Raw white shrimp (L. vannamei) exports were 17,660 tonnes, up 23% year-on-year;
• Breaded shrimp exports were 1,490 tonnes, up 16% year-on-year.

The change in the export product structure shows that Indonesia is gradually moving away from dependence on raw shrimp exports and shifting toward processed shrimp products with greater added value and market stickiness.

Why Are Exports to China Sluggish?

Although the data on the surface show a year-on-year increase in exports to China, the actual export volume is far below that of Indonesia's other main markets. Industry consensus holds that the main reasons include:

• Chinese importers prefer low-priced frozen shrimp resources such as those from Ecuador, and have limited acceptance of Indonesia's mid- to high-end products;
• China's market inventory was high in 2024, and demand recovered slowly after the holiday, dragging down the procurement pace in early 2025;
• Logistics and customs clearance factors affect the clearance efficiency of Indonesian products, affecting export enthusiasm;
• China's product supply chain is highly price-sensitive, limiting room for expansion of high value-added products.

Against the current backdrop of global market restructuring, Indonesia's dependence on high value-added markets such as the United States and Europe is deepening, while its exports to China show a trend of structural marginalization.

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