| Seafood consumption in the U.S. has increased over the period 1990 to 2003. A large percentage of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported. The most important seafood products imported to the U.S. are shrimp, Atlantic salmon, tilapia, catfish, crayfish, mussels and a mixture of mollusks. In 2003, the U.S. imported 199 million pounds of tilapia and tilapia products, at a value of $241.2 million, a 38% increase from the previous year. The seafood market has been considered an important foreign exchange earner for the Caribbean Common Market (CARICOM), and Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) member countries. Jamaica is the only CARICOM country that exports tilapia products from aquaculture sources to the U.S. In 2003, Jamaica exported 39,950... |
