WASHINGTON: The US imported a record amount of squid from China last year, despite ongoing global shortages due to last year’s El Nino, and record high prices. Prices of imported processed loligo from China hit an average $6,020 per metric ton in December of last year, an increase of 28.4% compared with the corresponding period in 2015, according to International Trade Center (ITC).
Prices for other types of squid increased similarly, as low catch of key species — particularly Illex squid off the coast of Argentina — impacted prices across the board. Yet US imports of processed squid from China rose to 38,028t in 2016, an increase of 11% year-on-year (see chart 1). Imports of processed loligo squid rose to 14,012t. Even during December with prices at their peak, imported volumes of squid from China were still up by around 10% compared with year-ago levels.
