Ecuadorian white shrimp exports to China face price pressure and inspection challenges

As Ecuador, the world's largest exporter of white shrimps, exports large quantities of shrimp to China, prices in the Chinese market are under pressure. Foreign media "Undercurrent News" reported that the price of Ecuadorian white shrimp exported to China has been under pressure recently, especially for larger-sized products. At the same time, more than 200 shipments of Ecuadorian shrimp were rejected by China in August due to sodium metabisulfite issues, putting exporters facing additional market and logistics pressure.

An important background for the weakening prices is the continued rapid increase in Ecuadorian shrimp production and exports. Shrimp Insights data shows that Ecuador's shrimp exports from January to July 2026 reached approximately 987,000 metric tons, an increase of 19.1% over the same period last year; exports in July alone reached approximately 165,000 metric tons. The large amount of supply entering the international market has increased the bargaining space of Chinese importers and made products of certain sizes more vulnerable to price competition.

On the other hand, the Chinese market is not without demand, but there is a gap between the speed of demand and supply. The momentum of shrimp procurement in the Chinese market has increased before the Mid-Autumn Festival, but prices in Ecuadorian origins have not received support at the same time, showing a polarization phenomenon in which prices in the Chinese market have strengthened while prices in Ecuadorian origins have declined.

In addition, China's change in the sodium bisulfite testing method for imported shrimp this year has also become another pressure faced by Ecuadorian exporters. Shrimp Insights pointed out that after China Customs adjusted relevant testing methods in April, there was a significant increase in the number of rejected shrimp batches, the vast majority of which involved Ecuadorian frozen vannamei shrimp; as of August, there were still six Ecuadorian processing plants that had suspended their export qualifications to China.

This situation may create triple pressures of "increased supply, slowdown in some demand, and restricted import inspections." If Chinese importers expect that subsequent supply will still be sufficient, they may be more cautious when purchasing and wait for further clarity on prices; goods that are rejected or have export qualifications suspended may also need to find other markets, further increasing supply pressure in other markets.

Market analysis points out that China's restrictions on some Ecuadorian shrimp exporters, coupled with market concerns about oversupply, have put pressure on prices in Ecuadorian origin.