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Shrimp is one of the most popular seafoods consumed worldwide. Almost 70% of shrimp is consumed by developed countries, including Japan, the USA, China, Europe, and others with high per capita consumption. Shrimp is also one of the top imports in the USA. The rise in demand for shrimp, driven by factors such as the trend of prioritizing health and consuming lean protein from seafood, has significantly affected the scope of business. This has also promoted shrimp aquaculture through advancements in cultivation techniques and boosted the business industry.
Globally, the shrimp industry is worth billions of dollars. It is estimated that the market will reach and yield a revenue of $69.35 billion by 2028, with annual sales exceeding 6-7% annually. Shrimp can be sold fresh or frozen, and this is one of the key factors that has contributed to the shrimp industry's thriving due to the availability of frozen and ready-to-cook options. The scope of the shrimp business can be analyzed by certain factors, such as fish farming, which involves sustainable aquaculture, to support global shrimp production in response to rising demand. Ethical feed production for shrimp adds value to growth. Preservation methods and distribution strategies also make a lot of difference.
At the beginning of understanding the ways of selling shrimps to global consumers, you must understand the categories of becoming a shrimp supplier. There are two different types of shrimp suppliers:
Another way of starting a shrimp-selling business is to become a shrimp seed supplier. These kinds of suppliers deal in supplying the initial stage of shrimp, which is young and ready for farming. They deal with the post-larval life of shrimps, often referred to as shrimp seeds by their target market, which is the shrimp farming industry. They obtain shrimp from hatcheries that produce adult shrimp suitable for laying eggs and further reproduction. Shrimp farms harvest these shrimp eggs to grow fully under certain conditions for consumption. The primary focus of shrimp seed suppliers is to select the best shrimp seed for fast-growing shrimps under secure conditions and a friendly environment, ensuring they develop into a high-quality final product. They manage the advanced technology that supports the life cycle and ensures the larvae have a high chance of survival. Being called shrimp seeds, these are considered a raw material for shrimp farming.
Consumed shrimp suppliers supply edible shrimps to global buyers, including restaurants, retail chains, and wholesalers. Consumed shrimp sellers sell the finished product to buyers, which is suitable for consumption. Their product is full-grown shrimp, which can be sold as frozen, fresh, breaded, marinated, or cooked. The shrimp suppliers consume shrimps directly from the source or obtain them from nearby aquaculture farms in large quantities to sell them further in the market. These suppliers focus on maintaining the product's quality, packaging, branding, and handling, ensuring overall delivery is done in a timely manner to maintain the safety of both the product and consumers. If they are involved in the international trade of shrimps, they manage all the trade regulations and shipping management. It is the most common way to become a
When we examine the shrimp trade and import market closely, we can see that the industry is led by top developed countries, including China, Europe, and the United States of America. In 2023, China imported the most shrimp globally by volume, approximately 1.07 million tonnes, which is 29% of global imports.
Whereas Europe imported 8.3k tonnes in the same year, which is slightly less than China. The United States, on the other hand, has imported 789k tonnes, Japan around 200k, and South Korea with 96k tonnes of shrimps. Other countries, such as Vietnam and Thailand, have imported a large amount of 400k annually to resell and supply further.
When it comes to shrimp buyers' segmentation, restaurants and retailers top the list in America, which has the largest consumption of shrimp more than any other kind of seafood. The restaurants in the region prepare various cuisines using fresh and precooked shrimps on demand. In Europe, the trends of purchasing and consumption are similar to those in the US market. Spain is the largest importer of shrimp and a major distributor of premium-quality shrimp across Europe.
In Asia, shrimp consumption looks a bit different depending on the country. In China, supermarkets sell a lot of frozen shrimp, but most demand still comes from home cooking. People cook dishes like stir-fries and hotpots in their homes using shrimps. In Japan, the focus is on premium and specialty uses is restaurants for sushi, tempura, or seafood platters. South Korea imports shrimp for both supermarkets and a fast-growing foodservice sector.
Generally, developed Asian markets lean towards wild species, such as tiger shrimp or cold-water prawns, and they’re willing to pay extra for products with a clear origin label. For example: Alaskan spot prawns fetch a niche premium.
Shrimp is also sold in many different forms and it totally depends on where it’s used. Restaurants and distributors often buy frozen raw shell-on shrimp to peel or batter themselves. Peeled and deveined shrimp are popular in both retail and ready-made foodservice meals. Cooked, peeled are considered as a delicacy for salads and sandwiches, while breaded items like butterfly shrimp serve the quick-serve fried food market. As a global distributor and wholesaler, you must cater to all these segments.
To start as a shrimp supplier, you can choose the following ways to meet importers and buyers all over the world:
You can start by leveraging the top B2B marketplaces to find shrimp importers in Europe, the UAE, Canada, and Japan for selling shrimp. B2B platforms not only help you sell but are also highly useful in understanding the industrial trends that drive sales. We have listed the top B2B websites for you to find shrimp buyers online:
Tradewheel.com is one of the top websites for selling shrimp online. The platform is a renowned wholesale buying and selling website that can help expand your business and connect with buyers and wholesalers from various countries, looking to purchase wholesale shrimp from you. Tradewheel.com is known for the genuine buyers' network who are serious about doing business with you. These buyers belong to various industries and require shrimp according to their specific needs. The website allows you to visit the RFQ pages, where you can view the current requirements from importers. People are looking for bulk whole, peeled, and de-veined shrimp in both fresh and frozen conditions from you. You can join them through the platform and communicate with them for more details without any intermediaries involved.
DHgate is a platform based in China, well-known for small to medium-scale sellers who are new to the business and seeking genuine shrimp buyers, registered from China and other parts of the world. DHgate is designed with a simple yet interactive interface, allowing you to set up your virtual store for selling shrimps and attracting buyers through attractive photos with relevant descriptions. You can also add additional certifications to enhance your credibility and increase buyers’ trust, which will automatically increase your chances of securing final orders from them.
TradeKorea is a Korean B2B platform that enables you to target the largest markets for selling shrimp. There is a high shrimp consumption in South Korea, which means this website can help you connect with buyers more easily. You can create your seller’s account on this website and start selling all kinds of frozen, fresh, marinated, and ready-to-cook shrimp in bulk to interested buyers, thereby expanding your business through the platform. Here, you can apply various strategies in order to win the heart of buyers and attract them with low prices, low MOQs, and bulk purchase discounts. This way, you can increase your buyer’s trust and bag your initial sales with premium buyers.
Last but not least, Global Trade Plaza is a premium wholesale website from India, ideal for capturing a large market and selling shrimp online. The website is designed with easy-to-use tools that help you find the right buyers for your business. The website enables you to start your business with minimal investments and become a successful shrimp distributor over time. Global Trade Plaza has been helping many wholesalers meet virtually to sell wholesale commodities, including shrimp. You can use the platform to increase your profitability and buyers’ reach without incurring significant costs or hassle.
As mentioned above, the retail chains, including food chains and grocery stores, are the biggest market for selling shrimp. It is very important to develop offline business terms with restaurant owners who require shrimp in bulk quantities on a weekly or fortnightly basis. Selling fresh and frozen shrimps to grocery stores is also very favorable, especially in the initial days of business. This way, you do not have to face the consumer directly and can focus on all the work on the backend. The primary areas of focus will be time management and delivery while maintaining the quality of produce. Building relationships with restaurant purchase managers will also help create more contacts in the industry. You can also approach market wholesalers and freelance cooking businesses who need shrimps as per orders.
One of the best ways to connect with buyers globally and get to know them on a personal level is to join social media. Social media is an excellent way to interact with them, socialize with them, and get to know their expectations and plan future strategies. Platforms such as Facebook and Instagram help in understanding and tracking the buyer’s purchasing trends, analyzing what they are looking for, and targeting them with ads through various tools introduced. Not only sales, but social media can also help you gather buyers’ feedback regarding your services and gain their ratings and reviews. You can establish your own official presence on all social media platforms by creating Facebook pages and Instagram handles to post updates and recent sales, which is useful for promotion and marketing.
Tradeshows are another effective way to sell shrimp to business buyers and meet them in person. Trade shows are organized by government-level authorities with the purpose of bringing businesses, importers, and exporters together under one roof to facilitate business and develop contacts. If you want to start developing business relationships with global shrimp buyers and importers, who highly include the local and regional restaurants and retail chain managers, look for live demonstrations. As a shrimp supplier, you can showcase live cooking demonstrations to highlight quality, freshness, and versatility. You can also pick themes related to aquaculture to bring out more of the selling spirit. For tech lovers, you can also display videos showing the whole sourcing methods.
In Asia, consumers buy both farmed and wild shrimp. China’s middle-class families often choose frozen shrimp for stir-fries and hotpots, while Japan favors premium species for sushi and tempura. South Korea imports shrimp for retail and restaurant use, with higher-end wild varieties, such as tiger shrimp, earning strong demand.
Shrimp is sold in various forms, depending on its intended use. Restaurants often purchase raw, shell-on shrimp, while retail outlets prefer peeled and deveined options. Cooked pink shrimp are used in salads and sandwiches, and breaded butterfly shrimp have a niche in quick-serve meals. Each buyer chooses according to the application.
Shrimp is one of the most consumed seafoods all over the world. Especially from developed countries, such as the USA, China, Japan, and Europe. In this blog, we have discussed the largest market for shrimp to guide you and help you start a business. We have detailed the buyer’s classification and discussed the best ways to sell shrimp. The above-mentioned ways are some proven techniques used by seafood brands to expand their market. Selling shrimp requires building strategies in accordance with market and industrial trends, which is why we have mentioned some of the best B2B marketplaces so that you can find suitable buyers and sell shrimp easily.