René O'Deay gBlog

Chinese Imports hurt another traditional US industry. First they put the Washington applegrowers out of business, now it's the shrimpers.

"I never thought I could deal with this in America, especially in my hometown," said Grand Isle Mayor David Camardelle, also a licensed commercial fisher. "We've got the best seafood in the world in our back yard .¤.¤. that's all they know how to do, get on the boats and make a living."

Prices force closure

...starting in 2001, the price at which Wayne Estay Shrimp Co could sell shrimp to
processors kept sinking due to an influx of cheaper imported seafood.
From 1995 until last year, the domestic shrimp industry's share of the
U.S. market was cut in half; it now is responsible for less than 10
percent of the total value of shrimp brought into the United States.

Making less profit, Estay took more risks, such as cutting back on insurance for his buildings and equipment.

Those cutbacks proved fatal when Katrina wiped away everything he
owned. Still, he spent $800,000 rebuilding from the ground up, prodded
by his wife and encouraged by initially higher shrimp production in the
months after the storm.

But prices remained flat.

Source: blog.nola.com via René

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