Shrimp Count Explained: The Backwards Number That Catches Buyers Out

A 16/20 count means it takes between 16 and 20 shrimp to make a kilo. It's the first line a B2B buyer reads on a shrimp purchase order, before the price even, and it's also the most widely misunderstood line in the industry: count logic runs counter to intuition, and the smaller the number, the bigger and pricier the shrimp.

That inversion isn't a semantic detail. It explains why two buyers can order the same quantity in kilos and receive radically different lots in piece count, net yield and price per container. We source directly from factories in Vietnam, and count confusion comes up in almost every negotiation with a new importer.

How to read a shrimp count, and why it's calculated backwards

The count expresses how many pieces it takes to reach one kilogram. A 16/20 count means it takes between 16 and 20 shrimp to weigh a kilo; a 60/80 count needs between 60 and 80. The system has been standardised since Codex Stan 92-1981 for frozen shrimp, set by the FAO and the WHO, and that grid is still what the industry uses today to speak a common language from one country to the next.

The quick calculation method, popularised by Christophe, a fishmonger on the YouTube channel Chezmonpoissonnier, comes down to one simple rule: to find the number of pieces in a given weight, multiply the weight (in hundreds of grams) by both ends of the count range. For 100 g of size 50 shrimp (50 to 70 pieces per kilo), you get between 5 and 7 shrimp. For 300 g of size 100, between 24 and 30 pieces. The reflex to hold on to: the higher the number climbs, the smaller the pieces get.

Why does the count apply to the product as sold, not to the live shrimp?

The count refers to the final commercial form, not to the animal in the pond. One and the same lot of shrimp can show different counts depending on whether it's sold HOSO (head-on shell-on, whole with head and shell), PDTO (peeled deveined tail-on) or as IQF pieces (individually quick frozen). The weight of the head, the shell and the vein changes the number of pieces per kilo, and therefore the stated count, without the animal's actual size having shifted at all.

The same count doesn't weigh the same depending on the format sold

This variation by format is why a 16/20 HOSO and a 16/20 PDTO can't be compared like for like. A HOSO shrimp loses roughly half its gross weight once peeled and deveined, according to the yield grids used by the Vietnamese factories we audit. A lot listed as 16/20 in HOSO will therefore mechanically give a finer count, with a higher number, once processed into PDTO.

Comparing two quotes without checking the exact format is like comparing a gross price per kilo with a net price per kilo. The gap can amount to several tens of cents per kilo once brought back to the product actually usable in the kitchen or on the shelf. It's one of the reasons we recommend systematically cross-checking the stated count against the glazing rate and the peeled yield before signing off on a container purchase order.

How do you compare two quotes that don't use the same shrimp format?

The only reliable method is to bring both offers back to the same reference point: either net drained weight in HOSO, or net weight in PDTO, never a mix of the two. Always ask the supplier for the conversion factor they apply between formats, and insist it appears in black and white on the spec sheet attached to the contract.

The pound-count trap when your supplier also serves the US market

In European markets, sizing is expressed in pieces per kilogram. In the North American market, the reference is still the pound, or 453 grams, which creates a conversion factor to watch as soon as a supplier works both zones. A factory exporting mainly to the United States sometimes sizes its lots thinking "per pound" before reconverting for the European label, and the rounding introduces a real gap of two to three pieces per kilo.

The table below compares the main sizing references a buyer importing from Vietnam into Europe will run into.

When should you insist the count be expressed in kilos rather than pounds?

As soon as a supplier quotes units as "U/xx" (under, below a threshold, typical of the American system) rather than "xx/yy" (the classic European range), ask for the written reconversion into pieces per kilogram before signing. That single check heads off the majority of count discrepancies found on arrival, based on what we've learned from our own containers.

Broken count: the clause that turns a sizing gap into a winnable dispute

A stated count is never a single value, it's a range, and the spread between the bottom and the top of that range is called the broken count. According to the European market observatory EUMOFA, commercial disputes tied to a sizing discrepancy account for a significant share of the claims recorded on frozen shrimp imports into the European Union. The most frequent cause isn't supplier bad faith, it's a contract that never spells out the accepted tolerance.

Without a numbered broken count clause, a container delivered at 21/25 after a 16/20 order is not legally a defect. The count is a commercial range, and without a tolerance threshold defined in advance (typically plus or minus 5% of pieces outside the stated count), the factory is within its rights. We see this situation come round every season with importers who only discover the missing clause after the receiving inspection.

What broken count tolerance should you ask for in a shrimp contract?

Industry practice sits around 5% of pieces outside the stated range, tolerated without recourse, with a rejection or price renegotiation threshold beyond that. Have your own quality control verify that figure before every container, and insist it's tied to a precise sampling protocol (number of pieces weighed, drawing method) rather than to a vague formula along the lines of "approximate count".

At EMG Seafood, we source directly from factories in Vietnam, so we have an obvious commercial interest in defending this kind of contractual verification. It's also what has taught us, container after container, just how much more a badly drafted broken count clause costs than a botched price negotiation.

Verdict: count gets verified in the contract, not on arrival

The backwards logic of the count (low number equals big shrimp) is only the first level of reading. The real financial risk sits in three areas: the product format (HOSO versus PDTO changes the stated count), the measurement reference (European kilo versus American pound), and the absence of a broken count clause. A buyer who locks down these three points in the contract eliminates the majority of sizing disputes seen on the market.

Worth trying on your next container: insist on a spec sheet that states the exact format, the kilogram reference, and a numbered broken count tolerance. To avoid in every case: signing off on a quote based on "16/20" alone without knowing whether it refers to HOSO, PDTO or IQF. For the full count grid from U10 to 80/100 with indicative prices per bracket, our B2B count guide breaks down every range. And before signing with a new factory, the supplier verification checklist covers the points to audit ahead of a first container.

According to Eurostat Comext data on external trade in seafood products, the European Union remains a net importer of frozen shrimp, which keeps the pressure on exporting factories to standardise their sizing grids for a customer base that is increasingly demanding on count traceability. It's also an argument for favouring ASC-certified suppliers, whose compliance frameworks already build in documented sizing controls.