Buy Ecuadorian White Shrimp L. vannamei

Ecuadorian White Shrimp — Record Production, Premium Quality

Ecuador exported a record 165,538 MT of shrimp in May 2026 — the highest monthly volume any country has ever shipped. KATUNA Trade sources Litopenaeus vannamei from BASC-certified Ecuadorian farms, with documentation ready for FDA, EU and GACC entry.

Market Context

Ecuador’s shrimp exports are setting all-time records: $3.52 billion year-to-date through May 2026, with the European Union up 34% and the United States up 29% year-on-year. Extensive, low-density Pacific pond farming delivers the texture and flavor consistency intensive Asian systems struggle to match.

On Sodium Metabisulfite — Full Transparency

Sodium metabisulfite (E223) is a globally approved preservative used by every shrimp-producing country to prevent harmless post-harvest melanosis. It is approved by the FDA, EFSA and Codex Alimentarius, and Ecuadorian product meets both the EU standard (150 ppm, edible portion) and the US FDA standard (100 ppm). Our suppliers document residue compliance lot by lot — read our food safety explainer for the full science.

Explore by province

Where Ecuador's shrimp actually comes from

Unlike cacao, Ecuadorian shrimp farming is entirely coastal — concentrated in five provinces, with Guayas alone responsible for roughly six in ten export-ready ponds.

165,538 MT Record monthly shrimp exports, May 2026 (+9% YoY volume)

$847M Export value that month (+8% YoY)

5 Coastal provinces farming shrimp for export

Source: Cámara Nacional de Acuacultura (CNA), reported by SeafoodSource and Shrimp Insights, Jul 2026.

Click a marker to highlight that province below. All five sit on or near the coast — unlike cacao, there's no inland growing zone for shrimp.

Guayas

~60%

The core of Ecuador's shrimp industry — the largest concentration of ponds, hatcheries and processing plants, anchored around Guayaquil and Posorja.

Largest hub

El Oro

~20%

Where Ecuadorian shrimp farming began in 1969, around Machala. Still a major producing province, alongside its established banana export industry.

Historic origin

Manabí

~9%

Coastal shrimp ponds alongside Ecuador's tuna-processing hub at Manta — the same province supplies both.

Dual seafood hub

Esmeraldas

~9%

Northern coastal production, sharing the mangrove-estuary ecosystems that make Ecuador's coastline suited to shrimp farming.

Northern coast

Santa Elena

~2%

The smallest of the five producing provinces, on Ecuador's westernmost coastal point.

Smallest share

Source: Ecuador National Chamber of Aquaculture (CNA) data, cited via The Fish Site industry analysis.

Product formats

One supplier, six formats, zero back-and-forth

Ecuador's own export mix is shifting toward more formats, not fewer: headless shrimp exports grew 24% and value-added grew 38% between 2020 and 2026, even as head-on remains the largest single category. KATUNA works across all six formats below as a frozen shrimp importer's single point of contact, so a shift in what your customer wants doesn't mean a shift in supplier.

Source: SeafoodSource / CNA, Jul 2026 — format growth figures, Ecuador national export data.

HOSO

Whole shrimp, shell and head intact. Closest to the live product — common for markets where head-on presentation is preferred.

Head-On Shell-On

HLSO

Head removed, shell on. The most common wholesale format for further processing downstream.

Headless Shell-On

PUD

Shell removed, vein left in. A middle-ground format between raw and fully ready-to-cook.

Peeled Undeveined

P&D

Fully cleaned, ready to cook. Highest labor cost, lowest prep work for the buyer.

Peeled & Deveined

Value Added

Pre-seasoned or breaded formats aimed at foodservice and retail-ready channels.

Breaded / Marinated / RTC

Cooking Quality

Cooked before freezing — for buyers who want a heat-and-serve or cold-prep product.

Pre-Cooked

Sizing

Shrimp count & sizing for vannamei shrimp wholesale orders

Shrimp is sold by count — the number of individual shrimp per pound. Smaller number, bigger shrimp.

Count basis matters. The counts below are quoted on an HLSO (headless, shell-on) basis — the industry-standard reference point. The same shrimp with the head on typically counts about two sizes larger; peeled, about one size larger. If you're comparing a quote against the product formats above, confirm which basis it's quoted on before comparing numbers across suppliers.

U-15Colossal

Under 15 per pound. The largest commercial size — priced and marketed as a premium, low-count product.

16/20Extra Jumbo

16 to 20 per pound. A common premium wholesale size for retail and foodservice centerpiece dishes.

21/25Jumbo

21 to 25 per pound. Widely stocked size for grilling and sautéing applications.

26/30Extra Large

26 to 30 per pound. One of the most commonly ordered wholesale counts.

31/40Large

31 to 40 per pound. Standard size for pasta and stir-fry applications.

41/50Medium

41 to 50 per pound. Common mid-tier wholesale size.

51/60Small

51 to 60 per pound. Used in salads and lower-cost prepared dishes.

71/90Extra Small

71 to 90 per pound. Smallest common export count, priced accordingly.

Source: standard seafood-industry count-per-pound convention; head-on/peeled size-shift ratios per Fulton Fish Market's published size guide.

Freezing methods

Five ways to freeze it. One extra, if you need it.

Most orders don't need to think about freezing method past IQF. Yours might — and when it does, KATUNA already has the other four covered, plus liquid nitrogen on request.

IQF

Each shrimp frozen separately on a cold-air conveyor. Microscopic ice crystals protect cell structure — the product portions cleanly without full-bag thawing.

Individual Quick Freezing

Semi-IQF

Slight clustering from residual moisture. Easier portioning than a solid block, with some of IQF's flexibility at a lower cost.

Partial Individual Freezing

Brine

Immersed in chilled saltwater, no glaze applied. Common for shrimp headed to further cooking, not direct retail display.

Saltwater Immersion Freezing

Plate Freezing

Direct contact with refrigerated plates — fast, no added liquid, commonly used across seafood generally.

Block Freezing

Glaze

A thin ice layer applied after freezing to prevent dehydration and oxidation during storage and transport — standard for retail-bound product.

Protective Ice Coating

Liquid Nitrogen

Ultra-fast cryogenic freezing for buyers who need the highest possible tissue-quality retention — the French market is a typical example. Not a standing production line: available on request, quoted and confirmed per order.

On request — quoted per order

Sustainability

Ecuador's shift toward sustainable aquaculture

Mangrove restoration. Ecuador's coastal shrimp-farming provinces cleared mangrove forest for ponds for decades. Producer groups and NGOs are now actively replanting it — mangroves filter pond water and buffer against coastal erosion.
Probiotics over antibiotics. A growing share of Ecuadorian farms have moved from chemical-heavy pond management to probiotic systems, improving water quality and reducing disease outbreaks like white spot syndrome.
Sector-wide partnerships. Initiatives like the Sustainable Shrimp Partnership, working with organizations including WWF, have pushed adoption of these practices across both large operators and smallholder farms.

BAP — industry standard ASC — industry standard AGROCALIDAD — KATUNA confirmed BASC — KATUNA confirmed

Quality & compliance

Why cold-chain and export compliance matter right now

Context worth knowing as a buyer: since mid-2026, China's customs authority (GACC) has suspended import declarations from at least seven Ecuadorian shrimp processing plants over sodium metabisulfite testing methodology changes, with additional unresolved cases dating back to October 2025 — CNA has stressed these are plant-specific restrictions, not a blanket suspension of Ecuadorian shrimp. Separately, a new Ecuadorian domestic security control on sodium metabisulfite (aimed at preventing its diversion for illicit use) has already cost the sector an estimated $45M in compliance-related tariffs this year, according to CNA. Two different issues, same underlying chemical — both are exactly why cold-chain and additive-control discipline matter at the pre-shipment stage. KATUNA verifies this as standard practice, not as a response to a specific buyer's request. Sources: Undercurrent News (Jul 7 & 10, 2026) on the GACC plant suspensions; SeafoodSource, citing CNA, on the $45M metabisulfite compliance tariff estimate.

Beyond shrimp

Ecuador's other frozen seafood: tuna and whitefish

Shrimp is Ecuador's flagship seafood export as an ecuador seafood exporter, but it isn't the only one. Manta, on Ecuador's central coast, is one of the world's major tuna-processing hubs — canned, frozen loins and pouch formats, largely skipjack, yellowfin and bigeye, moving through plants certified to MSC, HACCP and BRC standards. Mahi-mahi and other whitefish move through the same coastal export network on a smaller scale. KATUNA's confirmed sourcing focus is shrimp; tuna and whitefish availability through KATUNA specifically is on request, pending confirmation case by case.

Spiny lobster

Frozen whitefish

Mixed fresh seafood catch, including whitefish and scallops

Mixed seafood catch

SENAE Certified customs handling

AGROCALIDAD Health & sanitary certification

BASC Certified logistics partners

From our trade intelligence

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The world's largest Ecuador shrimp export origin, by the numbers