US Shrimp imports continue to climb; consumption likely to rise in 2014 US shrimp imports were up 12.6% overall in October, continuing the trend of recovery in shrimp supplies. Even with current weakness and buyer caution holding back November and December orders, the overall momentum at this point, LA port issues notwithstanding, is for a increase in supply over 2013. India and Ecuador are neck and neck in terms of which will be the number one supplier to the US. The rise in imports, along with recovery in Gulf landings and a record shrimp year on the West Coast all point to 2014 seeing only the second uptick in shrimp consumption in the last seven years. Two major NGO campaigns are beginning to unfold, targeting retailers purchases of tuna and salmon. In our view, the tuna market action is fully justified by an abject failure of management. But SFP’s salmon campaign - designed to force retailers to avoid Prince William Sound pink salmon - is not justified at all. Completely unlike tuna, scientists and regulators are spending millions of dollars to engage on hatchery issues and revise practices which in some areas have been in place for more than 100 years. In this situation, call for a boycott is unwarranted, and simply serves the interest of those making the campaign, not their retail partners. Red Lobster has hit back at suggestions its new menu revamp is not working. Contrary to a public brand poll, Red Lobster said its internal data show the opposite. “Same-restaurant sales have been positive in the second quarter and since the new menus launch,” Red Lobster spokeswoman Erica Ettori said. That would mark a big improvement from 5.6 percent slide in its last full quarter. [O]ur guest satisfaction is the highest it has been in three years, Ettori said. Kodiak will have to wait to get in on Alaska’s tanner crab boom. Based on the results of our 2014 crab survey the abundance of legal sized male Tanner crab at Kodiak, Chignik and along the Alaska Peninsula were all below the minimum threshold for us to have a commercial fishery, said ADF&G. However, the total abundance of crab in Kodiak was the third or fourth highest in the time series, meaning that there is a wave of recruits coming, once they reach legal size. Finally, we have three market stories going into the weekend. First, pasteurized blue swimming crabmeat has been falling in price for six weeks, leading to a mismatch in expectations between US importers and overseas producers in Indonesia and elsewhere. Second, East coast fresh halibut prices are near a record, even with an increase in Canadian imports. Demand seems strong after the closure of Alaska, and Atlantic Canada is pretty much the only source. Finally, two bad weather days slowed lobster production in Nova Scotia, causing an uptick in pricing, and further calling into question the proportion of the total landings that will go to processors. -Seafood News
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 06:30:40 +0000
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