Japan's shrimp imports rise 4% in Jan-May

Japan's total shrimp imports (including frozen and processed products, excluding lobsters) rose 4% year-on-year to 80,158 tons in the first five months of 2025.

Category Breakdown

• Processed shrimp: Imports increased by 11% to 25,517 tons

• Frozen cold-water shrimp: Imports surged by 29% to 2,896 tons

• Frozen non-cold-water shrimp (including whiteleg shrimp, black tiger shrimp, etc.): Imports remained stable at 51,746 tons

Changes in Major Source Countries

• Non-cold-water shrimp:

  • Imports from India (+10% to 13,571 tons) and Ecuador (+36% to 7,026 tons) rose significantly;

  • Imports from Indonesia (-3% to 9,005 tons) and Thailand (-12% to 2,592 tons) declined;

  • Imports from Vietnam remained stable at 8,509 tons

• Argentine red shrimp: Imports dropped by 29% to 4,299 tons

• Cold-water shrimp: Imports grew in multiple countries, including Canada (+18% to 951 tons), Greenland (+37% to 841 tons), Russia (+21% to 544 tons), Lithuania (more than doubled to 170 tons), and Estonia (surged 17-fold to 29 tons)

Price Fluctuations

• Average price of non-cold-water shrimp increased by 4% to ¥1,322 per kg (approximately $8.99)

• Average price of cold-water shrimp decreased by 9% to ¥1,827 per kg (approximately $12.42)