Shrimp prices to remain elevated through first half of 2023

Higher shrimp prices are resulting in lower demand in the United States, but despite that, prices will remain elevated as seafood firms work to clear out inventory.High

Even though farmers are being paid less to grow shrimp, resulting in lower stocking levels globally, prices U.S. retailers are offering to consumers are based off of what they paid months ago for the product, plus cold storage costs, which have risen as energy prices have grown due to the war in Ukraine, according to Charoen Pokphand Foods Executive Vice President Robins McIntosh, speaking at the National Fisheries Institute's Global Seafood Market Conference’s shrimp panel on Tuesday, 17 January.

“Production is really going to be based on prices offered in these [high-consumption] countries, which is going to be based on consumption patterns and cold storage inventories,” he said.

U.S. shrimp imports will decline in 2022 for the second straight year, but that’s not due to lack of overall seafood demand, according to Rich Products Consumer Brands Division Senior Vice President Shannon Gilreath.

Rather, rising prices hitting everyone involved in the shrimp supply chain, along with high-priced stockpiles accumulated through the Covid-related surge in demand in 2021, are hitting up against ... 

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