Ecuador continued to record strong global shrimp exports in April, despite COVID-19 checks and restrictions in Chinese ports that recently caused more than 1,000 containers of shrimp from the South American to back up.

Global shipments totaled 182.6 million pounds in April, a 9 percent year-over-year increase, helped by orders from Europe, the United States and China.

Exports were around 6 million pounds shy of the 188-million-pound monthly record set in November.