Ecuador is the world’s largest shrimp exporter, and most of the vannamei shrimp that reaches the United States, Europe and Asia is packed by plants with years of export experience. Buying from Ecuador is not the risky part. The problems we see at origin almost always come from the same place: the buyer and the plant understood different things about the same order.
These are the five checks we recommend to any importer before sending a deposit, whether it is your first container from Ecuador or your first order with a new plant.
1. Agree on a written spec sheet before you agree on a price
A price per pound only means something when both sides know exactly what product it buys. Before negotiating, put the specification in writing:
- Presentation and count: HOSO, HLSO, PD, P&D, PDTO; count per pound or kilo, and the uniformity you accept inside each size.
- Glaze and net weight: glaze percentage and how net weight after deglazing will be measured.
- Defect tolerances: black spot, broken pieces, soft shell, dehydration, poor peeling or deveining, and the maximum percentage of each.
- Cooking test and off-flavor: what happens if a sample shows an earthy or muddy taste after cooking.
- Sulfite limits, packing, labels and destination requirements.
A common example in head-on shrimp: some plants do not count red heads as a defect. If your market does, the spec sheet has to say so. Otherwise the plant packs to its own standard and both sides are right.
2. Pay the deposit only after the PI, PO and label are approved
The proforma invoice (PI), your purchase order (PO) and the label artwork should match each other line by line: product, size, glaze, net weight per box, packing, brand, destination and shipping date. Review all three, correct what does not match, and approve them in writing. Only then release the deposit.
Once production starts, a difference between the PI and the label becomes a relabeling job, a delay or a claim at destination. Before the deposit, it is an email.
3. Keep every agreement in writing, by email
Many details in shrimp trading are agreed by phone or WhatsApp: a change in glaze, a new shipping date, a substitution in sizes. Confirm each of them by email with the plant and keep them in the same thread as the order. When there is a disagreement months later, the email thread is the only record both sides accept.
4. Check that the plant is exporting, and approved for your market
Ecuador can export to your country, but that does not mean every plant can. Before you confirm, check that the plant has exported recently and that it is registered or listed for your destination. Requirements differ by market: FDA food facility registration for the United States, the list of approved establishments for the European Union, and GACC registration for China. Ask the plant for proof and verify it.
5. Start with one container
With a new plant, the first container shows you how they work: how they follow the spec, how they communicate delays, how the product arrives and how they respond to a problem. It is easier to fix those things on one container than on five. When the first shipment goes well, scaling up is a simple decision.
Before the container leaves: pre-shipment inspection
The five checks above protect the agreement. A pre-shipment inspection checks that the product matches it. An independent inspector at the plant takes samples from finished cartons and measures count, net weight after glaze, defects, cooking test and temperature, then supervises the container loading. You receive the report before you release the balance payment, while a problem can still be fixed at origin.
Shrimp & Sea has inspected Ecuadorian shrimp for importers in the United States, Europe and Asia since 2019. We are hired and paid by the buyer. See what we check in a shrimp inspection in Ecuador, or request an inspection quote on WhatsApp.