European Union shrimp imports rose 18 percent by volume in the opening six months of the year to 222,137 metric tons (489.7 million pounds), according to latest figures published by Ecuador's Camara Nacional de Acuacultura (CNA) trade association.

The value of those imports climbed 30 percent from the same period the year prior to $1.78 billion (€1.79 billion).

In 2020, the first year of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the EU imported nearly 158,000 metric tons of shrimp, 41 percent less than imports during the first six months of this year.