Prices Up, Volumes Down in September for Shrimp in the Gulf

NOAA recently released shrimp landings data from the Gulf of Mexico for September that continue to show low volumes of catch in 2016.

The 11.2 million pounds of shrimp landed in the Gulf of Mexico last month were the lowest reported for the month of September since 2008 and the third-lowest volume recorded for a September over the last fifteen years.  Overall, shrimp landings in the Gulf were nearly 18% below the prior fourteen-year historical average (13.6 million pounds), with an almost 3.5 million pound drop off from last September (14.6 million pounds).  Landings in Louisiana (5.0 million pounds) were on par with landings last September (4.9 million pounds) and the decline in volume was experienced most acutely in Texas (4.3 million pounds versus 6.1 million pounds in September 2015) and Alabama (1.2 million pounds versus 2.8 million pounds in September 2015).

For the year, 67.3 million pounds of shrimp have been landed in the Gulf of Mexico, the lowest for the first three-quarters of the year since 2010.  In total, Gulf shrimp landings this year remain roughly 24% below the prior fourteen-year historical average (88.4 million pounds), with a drop-off of 7.5 million pounds compared to the first nine months of last year (74.8 million pounds).

While volumes have remained lower than historical averages, ex-vessel prices for shrimp were largely higher than they were last September.  Western and Northern Gulf ex-vessel prices for U15 count shrimp increased significantly.  Western Gulf ex-vessel prices for 26-30 count shrimp ($4.19/lb.) were more than double those reported in September of last year ($2.01/lb.) and the Northern and Eastern Gulf ex-vessel prices were both reported as higher than September 2015. Western Gulf ex-vessel prices for 41-50 count shrimp ($2.67/lb.) were considerably higher than those reported last September ($1.03/lb.).

Please click the following link to view SSA’s compilation and summary of September 2002-2016 Shrimp Landings and Ex-Vessel Prices for September 2001-2016: