Weekly Wholesale Price Reporting for Ecuadorian Vannamei Shrimp in China

Undercurrent News is set to introduce a new initiative aimed at enhancing market transparency through weekly wholesale price reporting for Ecuadorian vannamei shrimp traded within the Chinese market.

Overview of Price Assessments

The forthcoming price assessments from UCN will focus on products sourced from Ecuador’s leading shrimp producers. These assessments will reflect wholesale market activity on an ex-warehouse basis in China, capturing critical transactions involving importers, distributors, and Chinese buyers.

By providing data-backed benchmarks, the datasets will not only increase market transparency but will also complement UCN’s expanding portfolio of seafood price assessments. This initiative builds on the recently introduced cost and freight (CFR) pricing for the Ecuador-China shrimp corridor.

Product Specifications

• Origin: Ecuador
• Terms: Ex-warehouse China (wholesale level)
• Product Type: Vannamei, Frozen HOSO (Head-on, Shell-on)
• Processing: Brine IQF and Semi IQF
• Size Categories: 10/20, 20/30, 30/40, 40/50, 50/60, 60/70, 70/80, and 80/100 count per kilogram
• Format:
  • Foodservice: 12kg per box, 1 box per pack
  • Retail: 1.4-1.8kg per box, 6-10 boxes per pack
• Storage: Frozen, stored in Chinese cold storage facilities

Pricing Basis

The proposed pricing assessments will be grounded in the wholesale market pricing within China, articulated in CNY per kilogram. These assessments will reflect the transaction values involving Chinese importers and distributors, covering end buyers such as processors, foodservice operators, and retail chains.

Significance in the Market

China stands as the largest single-country consumer market for Ecuadorian shrimp globally. Recently, Undercurrent launched extensive weekly CFR pricing that encompasses 18 distinct product specifications, highlighting the significant bilateral seafood trade between Ecuador and China.

In the past year, China imported 672,000 metric tons of predominantly headless, shell-on shrimp from Ecuador, with a total trade value of $3.09 billion.

Price movements in the wholesale market can precede shifts in Chinese consumption patterns and inventory levels, often serving as valuable leading indicators for broader market trends, especially during periods of inventory buildup.

Future Plans and Implementation

The proposed wholesale price assessments will enhance the existing CFR benchmarks, creating a comprehensive price discovery process that spans from importation to end-user markets. This initiative is part of UCN’s continuous development of its pricing portfolio, which recently expanded with new benchmarks for wild Alaskan salmon, Dungeness crab, and Chilean seabass. The total datasets on our platform now reach an impressive 3,700.

Feedback and Consultation

We invite your insights to help customize this service to better reflect market dynamics and support your business decisions. Please send any questions or comments to [email protected] by June 30, 2025.

After consulting with the industry, we anticipate launching this price reporting service on July 9, 2025.

Thank you for your ongoing support. We look forward to collaborating with you to create a reliable and efficient price reporting service.

Best Regards,
UCN Team

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