Tianjin Cold Storage Overflows, Ecuadorian White Shrimp Spot Prices Forced to Cool
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From June 15 to 21, Ecuadorian white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) quotes to China were broadly stable, but domestic spot prices had already begun to feel pressure from ports and cold storage. Cold storage capacity at Tianjin Port is tightening, and newly arrived containers are having difficulty entering warehouses; some importers have had to speed up shipments, and wholesale market prices have weakened. For Ecuadorian white shrimp, the immediate pressure is not in origin quotes but in the speed of inventory digestion in the Chinese market.
Tianjin is one of the important ports for Ecuadorian white shrimp entering China. Recently, local cold storage has been near full capacity, and newly arrived containers have difficulty entering warehouses in time; importers need to book storage space in advance and pay extra fees to lock in warehousing resources. Cold storage congestion is not caused by white shrimp alone—increased imports of frozen beef have taken up a large amount of storage space—but white shrimp importers have already directly felt the turnover pressure.
Once containers arrive and no suitable storage space can be found, it is very difficult for importers to continue selling slowly. Cold storage fees, demurrage risk, capital occupation and subsequent arrival arrangements combine to force some traders to accelerate sales. Inventory that was originally intended to wait for a price rebound has been pushed onto the market ahead of schedule, and domestic spot prices have therefore weakened.
Ecuadorian exporters have not cut prices significantly so far. In Week 25, Ecuadorian HOSO (head-on shell-on) white shrimp CFR quotes to China were broadly little changed; quotes for 30/40 semi-IQF were flat versus the previous week, while 40/50 saw a slight adjustment. Prices for 12 kg large packs and 1.4–1.8 kg retail packs were also basically stable. Ahead of the Zhanjiang Seafood Expo, Ecuadorian plants are more inclined to hold quotes and wait for Chinese customers to give clearer signals on purchasing pace for the second half of the year.
Pressure in the Chinese market is directly related to increased Ecuadorian shipments to China. In April 2026, Ecuador's white shrimp exports to China increased by 34% year on year. After earlier low-priced orders arrived at ports one after another, Chinese ports, cold storage and wholesale markets simultaneously entered a digestion cycle.
Origin prices are not weakening across the board either. In Week 25, Ecuadorian raw material prices for 20/30 rose by about 6%, 60/70 fell by about 4%, 70/80 fell by about 2%, while 40/50, 50/60, 80/100 and shell-on whole shrimp were basically flat. Large sizes are tight, while small and medium sizes remain under pressure, and Ecuadorian white shrimp prices are重新 diverging by size.
Strength in large sizes is related to seasonal changes. From June to September, the Humboldt Current affects water temperatures along the Ecuadorian coast, slowing shrimp growth, and output of large sizes such as 10/20 and 20/30 is more likely to decline. The European market has already reflected this change first; quotes for 20/30 HOSO head-on shell-on white shrimp have firmed, and some European customers have begun to consider locking in 6-month to 12-month contracts. If large-size resources remain tight, Ecuadorian plants' willingness to make price concessions to the Chinese market will be constrained.
Prices for domestically farmed white shrimp in China are also recovering. Pond-gate prices in Guangdong rose around the Dragon Boat Festival, with the 60-count price up about 6% from the previous week, and most sizes followed upward. After spring-crop shrimp are gradually digested, supply from some ponds has decreased, and prices in southern Guangdong have gained support. Supply around Shanghai remains relatively ample, and price performance across different regions in China is not uniform.
Costs are also affecting origin sentiment toward holding prices. Peru's anchovy fishing has been repeatedly restricted due to sea conditions and the proportion of juvenile fish, and fishmeal prices continue to remain high. Fishmeal is an important raw material for aquaculture feed, and rising prices will raise white shrimp farming costs in Ecuador, China, India and Southeast Asia. Farmers' stocking of postlarvae, feeding and harvest timing will all be affected by changes in feed costs.
Chinese importers have not fully set aside concerns about customs clearance stability. Previously, about 100 containers from 12 Ecuadorian processing plants were rejected or returned at Chinese ports due to sodium metabisulfite residue issues. Sodium metabisulfite is a commonly used antioxidant in shrimp processing, mainly used to prevent melanosis and maintain freshness, but sulfur dioxide residues in the final product must comply with food safety limits. After the related incident eased, quotes for some sizes recovered slightly, but importers will remain more cautious about plant compliance, testing records and batch stability.
The Zhanjiang Seafood Expo will become an important occasion for Ecuadorian plants and Chinese customers to renegotiate prices. Ecuadorian companies hope to explain changes in origin farming and supply pressure in large sizes, while Chinese importers are more concerned about when Tianjin cold storage will ease, whether in-transit containers will continue to increase, and whether spot inventory can be digested smoothly. The two sides' focuses are not the same, and the pace of deals will also be more cautious.
In the short term, the Ecuadorian white shrimp market to China will still be constrained by inventory and warehousing pressure. Rising prices for large sizes at origin provide exporters with a reason to hold quotes; congestion at Chinese port cold storage, in turn, forces importers to keep inventory low. The price stability in Week 25 looks more like the result of a standoff between the two sides. Whether subsequent quotes can move higher will depend on pressure at Tianjin cold storage, the pace of arrivals, domestic spot transactions and new orders after the Zhanjiang Seafood Expo.
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