Northern Shrimp: export from Canada to ASEAN

Northern shrimp is a cold-water species and it is bought for what cold water does to it: smaller, sweeter and firmer than warm-water farmed shrimp, sold on count size and format rather than competing on size alone.

The common formats are cooked and peeled, and shell-on. Cooked and peeled dominates the export trade because it removes labour at the destination and arrives ready for use. Count size is the primary price driver, and consistency within the count is what separates a good supplier.

Southeast Asian buyers are generally sourcing warm-water shrimp domestically, so Canadian northern shrimp enters as a different product for a different application rather than as a substitute, which changes how it should be positioned and priced.

Glaze percentage matters here as it does for crab: contract on net weight after glaze. Specify count, cooked or raw, peeled or shell-on, and the glaze, and confirm the destination's consignment requirements before shipping.