At the "Infofish 2022" Global Shrimp Trade Conference, Willem van der Pijl, founder of Shrimp Insights, pointed out that before and after the epidemic, a series of changes have taken place in the European imported shrimp market. In 2018-21, as the main distributor of shrimp products in Northern and Western Europe, the Netherlands imported up to 50%, and imports exceeded 45,000 tons, almost twice that of Belgium.
"The Netherlands is home to two large processing companies, such as Heiplooeg and Klaas Puul. While Heiplooeg and Klaas Puul are not as large as Pescanova and Labelie, they are the largest suppliers in the hull shrimp segment. Van der Pijl said.
Historically, the Netherlands imported shrimp products mainly from Asia, with India and Vietnam being the main suppliers in 2018 and 19. In 2020, Ecuador jumped to second place, and in 2021 Venezuela overtook The South and Bangladesh to become the third largest supplier of shrimp to the Netherlands.
"Ecuador's exports to the Netherlands remain strong and Venezuela is accelerating to catch up. Venezuela focuses on the production of small-size hulled shrimp, which Ecuador is not good at, so Venezuelan white shrimp is more competitive and can win a large market share. Van der Pijl said.
Ecuador's exports to northern Europe have been relatively stable since 2019, while Venezuela's exports have quadrupled to 8,143 tonnes. Van der Pijl pointed out that the cost of Venezuelan white shrimp is lower compared to Asian countries, because the success rate of shrimp farming in Asia is low, which seriously affects the profitability of farming. In Western European markets, Venezuelan exports grew from more than 4,000 tons in 2018 to more than 20,000 tons in 2021, and this trend continues.
"The export structure of shrimp farming countries in South America is changing, the processing industry of shrimp products is becoming more and more popular, the number of skilled workers is also increasing, and the efficiency is constantly improving. In order to open up the European market, many exporters are willing to invest in the processing industry in order to win long-term return on investment. Judging from the feedback from European retailers, in terms of sustainability, imported shrimp from South America have more advantages than Asian shrimp and are easier to gain a foothold in the Western European market. Van der Pijl said.