Prices Figure 2 provides weekly importer selling prices for frozen Tiger prawns from Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, and the Philippines. During the last two years, prices have steadily increased for all sizes of Tiger prawns. Many wholesalers also act as processors and retailers. Importers generally buy shrimp with a letter of credit, which makes payment available to the seller on shipment. Any decrease in shrimp prices that occurs during transport and clearance of the product for importation is the importer's burden.
Brokers commonly match buyers and sellers and receive a commission from sellers.
Some processors import product directly from the source country, opting not to go through brokers. Industry Grades and Standards Quality is defined according to importer specifications for the product. There are no absolutes, although there are some accepted standards. The U.S. Department of Commerce standards, detailed in Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations, contain grades and specifications for certain shrimp products. Codex Alimentarius standards, agreed on by many governments and published by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization of the United Nations, contain acceptable quality standards for shrimp.