A major contribution from Peru has helped lead another big monthly surge in US scallop imports, reveals the latest review by Undercurrent News.   

The US imported 2,562 metric tons of scallops worth $47.4 million in November 2024, the latest month for which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has seafood trade data. That was 22% more volume and 21% more value than the 2,108t of scallops worth $39.3m imported in November 2023.

Looking at overall scallop import prices by month, however, shows they are spiking. They climbed all the way up from $5.99/lb in August to $8.56/lb in November, based on the UCN trade portal chart below.

Also, November was the US' second-largest scallop import month of the year, less only than October when 2,725t of scallops worth $45.6m were imported, as reported earlier by Undercurrent.

With just one month to go in the year, the US had imported 23,833t of scallops worth $370.6m in 2024, 10% more volume and value than the 21,640t of scallops worth $337.9m imported in the first 11 months of 2023.

The continued focus on imports is a response to the low number of domestic landings seen in the US. Through the first 10 months of the 2024-25 US scallop season, which started April 1, 2024 and ends on March 31, 2025, the commercial limited access fleet had landed 14.4m lbs (59.44%) of the nearly 24.2m lbs that were projected to be landed all season.

That's 30% below the 20.6m lbs that were landed during the first 10 months of the 2023-24 season. And few additional scallops are expected to be landed in the final two months of the 2024-25 season.

Also of note, the scallops landed in the US have been smaller than in past years. The smaller size of 20-30 has accounted for 39% of the 2024-25 landings in the US, based on records maintained by the New Bedford seafood auction.

Peru has biggest month of year

Peru was the second-largest source of scallops imported by the US in November, sending it 739t worth $14.1m, 5,875% more volume and 5,887% more value than the 12t worth $235,660 sent to the US in November 2023.

It was the biggest month of the year for US imports of Peruvian scallops by far, as the UCN trade portal chart below shows. Also, the average import price in November climbed to $8.56/lb from $5.99/lb in August 2024.

The US' recent splurge on Peruvian scallops (Argopecten purpuratus) is not an altogether new phenomenon, Peter Handy, the CEO of Bristol Seafood, in Portland, Maine, previously noted to Undercurrent. The US imported 3,726t worth $44.5m as recently as 2021. 

Eastern Fisheries, the New Bedford, Massachusetts-based harvester and importer, is reported to be the US' biggest buyer of Peruvian scallops. Its website describes the mollusk as being from an ideal environment that includes "upswells in the Peruvian Sea from the cold Humboldt current, combining with warm water."

Scallops are harvested at 2.5 inches and range in size from 20-30 to 30-40, 40-60 and 60-80 per pound.

UCN's wholesale price information service plans to add Peruvian scallops should trade prove more consistent. 

"Peru's historical boom-or-bust pattern in scallop production seems to be at a more favorable point, with growing volumes reaching the US market," UCN's head of price reporting for the Americas Lorin Castiglione wrote in her week 50 of 2024 report. "This added supply provides some relief, especially for cost-sensitive buyers, but perceptions of quality and supply consistency remain mixed. Environmental factors and other disruptions can quickly change the dynamics of Peruvian imports, keeping buyers wary."

Japanese scallops still US import leader

Japan continues to be the US' top source of imported scallops, sending it 7,997t worth $140.0m in the first 11 months of 2024, 20% more volume and 8% more value than the 6,554t worth $129.4m in the first 11 months of 2023.

November 2024 was a big month for Japanese scallops. The US took in 1,008t worth $19.6m, however, that was 14% less volume and 9% less value than the 1,173t worth $21.4m imported in November 2023.

The average overall price paid in November 2024 was $9.00/lb, a penny less than the average price paid in October 2024 but 20% more than the $7.49/lb paid in September, based on UCN's trade portal chart.

The surge in demand for Japanese scallops has pushed the landing prices for large-sized scallops in Notsuke, Hokkaido, to beyond JPY 1,000 per kilogram ($6.42/kg), as Undercurrent reported recently. 

US imports of Canadian scallops also had a down month in November 2024, as the US took in just 284t worth $8.5m, 31% less volume and 27% less value than the 413t worth $11.7m imported in November 2023.

Overall, for the first 11 months of 2024, Canadian scallops are roughly on par with the previous year. The US imported 4,448t worth $127.9m during the most recent period, 2% more volume and 4% more value than the 4,367t worth $122.4m imported during the first 11 months of 2023.

"Canadian scallop supplies stay limited, with most volume tied up in existing contracts and little left for the spot market," Castiglione commented in her more recent market report for week 5 of 2025.

"Meanwhile, Japanese scallops have gained traction among cost-conscious buyers, though quotes for product still in Japan are beginning to climb, underscoring ongoing pricing challenges," she added.