Seafood Marketing (Shrimp)

2. Seafood Marketing (Shrimp)

3. Introduction • Hundreds of species of salt water shrimp in the world; however, industry divides them into two cateogories: • coldwater/northern (F. Pandalidae) • warmwater/tropical (F. Penaeidae) • 8 species dominate U.S. market • product mix changes when aquaculture changes

4. How are shrimp sold? • Typically counts per lb or counts per kg • Example: 16-20 means there are 16 to 20 shrimp per pound • Range goes from under 10 (giant or colossal) per lb to over 300-500 (canned) • Little species difference in packing or products • we will focus on warmwater shrimp

5. Shrimp Forms • Most common: raw, head-off (green headless) with the shell on • Heads-on: cephalothorax included, appearance is that of entire shrimp (known as “enteros” in Spanish) • raw shrimp without shells are “peeled”

6. Peeled Shrimp Forms • PUD: peeled, undeveined (vein or digestive tract remains intact, vein varies in color from dark to light) • P&D: peeled and deveined • PDI: peeled, deveined, individually-packed • Tail-on: peeled, but the tail fin and an adjacent shell segment are left on • Tail-on round: tail-on, undeveined

7. Various Forms of Shrimp

8. Peeled Shrimp Forms • butterflied: shrimp has been cut along the vein (split or fan-tail; split thru first 4 segments = “Western-style”) • cooked: usually sold IQF (individual quick-frozen); varieties include P&D tail-on, P&D tail-off, and shell-on • Other forms: minced, canned, dried, value-added (e.g., marinated, flavored, breaded) • U.S.D.O.C. has established standards for green headless and breaded shrimp

9. Breaded Shrimp • Breading consists of two components: • wet, adhesive batter • dry, crunchy breading • percentage breading (by weight) is critical, regulated by FDA • labeling standards • breaded shrimp (>50% shrimp) • lightly breaded (65% shrimp) • imitation breaded (<50% shrimp)

10. Forms of Breaded Shrimp • whole breaded: tail-on or tail-off, usually headless (although called “whole”), deveined if less than 70 count • butterfly breaded: split partway on vein side (dorsal) and spread open • split breaded: completely bisected (“western” or “cowboy” style) • hand-breaded: labor intensive, expensive, more attractive, tail-on • machine-breaded: tail-on or -off; if tail remains, it may or may not be breaded (not breaded = “pinched”)

11. Product Packing • Green headless: 5lb (net weight) block; add ice + box = 6-7 lbs. • 2.0 kg packs (0.6 lbs lighter, so buyer be ware!) • blocks packed in two styles: • layer or finger-packed • random, jumble or shovel pack • IQF: individual quick-frozen, usually in bags (1-30 lbs), labeled to net weight, without glaze • Breaded shrimp packed in boxes with moisture-resistant barrier, completely sealed

12. Product Packing

13. Chemical Additives • Usually dipped in solutions to either add weight or as a preservative • sodium tripolyphosphate (STP): on peeled and breaded shrimp to reduce drip loss (keeps weight up); labels must advise of this • sodium bisulfite: used primarily for shell-on shrimp to prevent melanosis (“black spot”); limit is 100 ppm, higher in Europe • “Ever-Fresh” (4-hydroxyresorcinol), naturally-occurring, GRAS, but expensive

14. Typical Shrimp Species Traded • Chinese whites: Fenneropenaeus orientalis, mandarin whites, medium-sized, sell for less, softer tissue • Gulf brown: Farfantepenaeus aztecus, shell color varies extensively, popular in Texas (50% of wild harvest), usually a little cheaper than whites, caught offshore

15. Typical Shrimp Species Traded • Gulf pink: Farfantepenaeus duorarum, very sweet, firm flesh, tails turn red when cooked, most packed shell-on • Gulf whites: Litopenaeus setiferus, often confused with brown shrimp (browns have groove in last tail segment), flesh often colorless, good flavor, pink when cooked

16. Typical Shrimp Species Traded • Pacific white shrimp: Litopenaeus vannamei, mainly imported from South America, Central America, Mexico, similar to Gulf whites, seasonal • black tigers: Penaeus monodon, dark dorsal/lateral stripes, usually peeled, some adversity to stripes, small ones = WSSV, big Japanese market heads-on

17. Shrimp as a Commodity • Traded daily as a commodity by many exporters • developing nations to industrialized • similar commodity characteristics: • price cycles, fluctuating supply/demand • marginal producers • capital requirements • contracts, futures • fluctuating exchange rates • short/long positions • overproduction, speculation • shrimp actually considered a medium for foreign exchange! Shrimp instead of clams??

18. Shrimp as a Commodity • Early development was the result of Japanese trading companies and American importers urging developing nations to go for it in the 50’s and 60’s • currently U.S. shrimp production only fills one-third of the demand • increase in demand is 3x faster than all meats • downturns in price are usually 4-year cycle

19. Price Cycling • Shrimp is a world-traded commodity, principally in U.S., Japan and Europe • Not considered solely as a commodity due to 1) marketed by brand; 2) packaged at source of production in the container in which it will be finally sold • Also: number of colors, sizes, species set shrimp apart from customary commodities • difficulty lies in delivering a uniform product against futures contracts

20. Shrimp Price Cycling • Shrimp prices, as mentioned, are cyclical and subject to a variety of influences (as with any commodity) • prosperous and recession years match shrimp prices • really based on consumer discretionary income • price breaks follow sizeable accumulation of secondary and substandard quality product • better quality control will reduce extent of cycling

21. International Marketing • Shrimp is the most important seafood species entering international trade - about 20% of the total • about one-third of its production enters the intn’l trade • Global production ~ 3 billion MT • 40 countries produce (15 produce 80% of total) • principal nations: India, China, U.S., Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Mexico • U.S., Japan, Europe consumes over 50% of final product (what is common among these?)

22. International Marketing of Shrimp • At least 25 species enter world trade • in Latin America, best prices are found for 21/25 - 41/50 (best are for 31/35 and 36/40) • prices depend on size of individual shrimp, quality and source • prices affected by the quality record of the producer/processor • marketing complicated due to: number of countries involved, size ranges, species, product forms, markets

23. International Marketing of Shrimp • Processor is the link between the producer and the market • 70% originates developing countries and all must be processed • farmed or capture fisheries all processed the same! • processing has two stages: 1) turning the shrimp into a form in which it can be traded as a commodity and 2) changing it from a commodity into a product form that can be market-driven (e.g., peeled, cooked, IQF)

24. International Marketing of Shrimp • Most processors are now covering both steps (in the past Step 2 was a U.S./Japan/European task) • Step 2: value adding • packaging is now improving in developing nations and refrigerated vessels are available • air shipments of fresh and live product are becoming more noticeable

25. International Marketing of Shrimp • International trade almost exclusively takes place between importer and exporter • financing provided by the importer who opens an irrevocable letter of credit (LC) in favor of the exporter • importers are marketers themselves and usually sell to wholesalers, distributors, re-processors , restaurant chains and supermarket chains • financing within the producing country is often provided by the exporter who finances the processor, who finances the farmer • all told, major burden falls on importer

26. International Marketing of Shrimp • Exporter may be a processor or a farmer or an independent third party who takes financial responsibility and communicates with importer • many governments require that prices be set before shipment • others set minimum sales prices and often quality parameters • all shrimp move through the same subsequent channels of distribution to major markets: import function is the same in all markets

27. International Marketing of Shrimp • Importer may purchase shrimp from foreign traders on an outright basis, paying for the purchase at full invoice value either at the time of shipment or upon passage by the FDA • may work on a consignment arrangement whereby an advance is made to the exporter by means of an LC (letter of credit) • in some cases the importer acts as a sales agent (broker) for the exporter and collects a commission • importers can also make pre-season advances to producers (therefore tying up their production) • it is by this means that the Japanese typically maintain a strong grip on Asian sources

28. Importance of Supply as it Affects Price • Availability of supply determines the direction shrimp markets will take • level of supply determines prices • prices as they relate to competing products, determine demand • if not for aquaculture, world shrimp supply would have, by now, levelled off • Question now: Can supply keep up with demand?

29. Importance of Supply as it Affects Demand • Major growth in demand is not in areas that produce shrimp • major growth will come in aquaculture as capture fisheries become more cost-prohibitive

30. The Effect of Foreign Exchange • Again the big markets for shrimp are: U.S., Japan and Europe • Japanese and U.S. shrimp markets are interdependent: prices prevailing in one affect the other • fluctuations in each country’s rates of exchange are bound to cause a reaction in both markets and elsewhere • even should the value of the U.S. dollar decline on the foreign exchange market, it remains unchanged in buying power within the U.S. • if the $ is strong, people want to sell shrimp there • low $ and yen values favor Europe

31. The Effect of Foreign Exchange • If $ value is low and product flows to Europe, it must be heads-on • increased flow to major markets (U.S., Japan, Europe) means decreased supplies in minor markets • result: prices stay firm in minors • because the U.S.$ is the world’s medium of exchange, U.S. importers don’t worry about changing values • Japanese continuously worry about foreign exchange markets, future values

32. Marketing Shrimp in the U.S. • Marketing of shrimp involves everything (production  consumption) • better price is reward for quality product, proper packaging, timely delivery, accurate sizing, honest weight • final selling price is the determinant of profit or loss

33. Marketing Shrimp in the U.S. • 75% of shrimp is consumed outside the home • current growing trend is eating in (at home) = more packaging, different forms of presentation (cooked, breaded, etc.) • Where should the added value be done? In the markets? Or at the source? • For now, it’s in the markets • target now: the supermarkets