Gulf fishermen are simply catching less shrimp, Randy Pearce and other buyers report. Photo: Louisiana Seafood News
by Christine Blank, SeafoodSource contributing editor
Prices on Gulf of Mexico brown shrimp are rising. Photo: Louisiana Seafood News
Prices on Gulf of Mexico brown shrimp are rising after overseas shrimp producers report problems with disease and the U.S. government set preliminary countervailing duty (CVD) rates for shrimp imports.
“The pricing is the highest I have seen in six years. You are paying twice as much for product after the BP oil spill,” said Randy Pearce, owner of processing company Doran Seafood in Independence, La.
As a result of higher ex-vessel prices on domestic shrimp — as much as USD 1 (EUR 0.77) per pound higher than last season — many buyers are switching to smaller sizes to save money, according to Pearce.
Domestic shrimp prices have risen “dramatically,” agrees C. David Veal, president of the Biloxi, Miss.-based American Shrimp Processors Association.
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