metro india news  I amaravati

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has raised alarm over the adverse impact of US tariffs on the state's shrimp export industry, stating that the sector has suffered estimated losses of Rs 25,000 crore and seen the cancellation of nearly 50% of export orders.

In letters addressed to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, and Fisheries Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Naidu outlined the pressing challenges faced by the state’s aquaculture sector and urged immediate intervention from the Centre.

‘The tariffs imposed by the United States have severely impacted shrimp exports from Andhra Pradesh. We estimate the losses at around Rs 25,000 crore, with nearly half of the export orders being cancelled,’   Naidu wrote, as per an official press release issued on Sunday night.

He further revealed that taxes totaling up to Rs 600 crore have been levied on shrimp exports involving approximately 2,000 containers. Highlighting the state's critical role in India’s aquaculture industry, Naidu noted that Andhra Pradesh contributes 80% of the country’s shrimp exports and 34% of overall marine exports, valued at Rs 21,246 crore annually. The sector supports nearly 2.5 lakh families directly, with another 30 lakh people dependent on allied industries.

In response to the crisis, the state government has taken initial relief measures, including negotiating a Rs 9 per kg price reduction on aquaculture feed and considering the distribution of subsidized power transformers to farmers.

Naidu appealed to the Union Government for broader support measures such as enhancing domestic consumption of aquaculture products, introducing GST flexibility and financial assistance, creating a Rs 100 crore corpus fund for the sector, establishing cold storages and hygienic fish, seafood markets, strengthening processing, packaging, and cold-chain infrastructure and launching awareness campaigns to promote seafood as a nutritious protein source.

Citing that India's per capita seafood consumption stands at just 12 to 13 kg per year well below the global average of 20 to 30 kg, he stressed the importance of boosting domestic demand. To improve distribution, Naidu also requested the Centre to launch dedicated trains for transporting aquaculture products from southern India to other parts of the country.

He further urged the government to provide a one-time Rs 1 lakh top-up loan under the Kisan Credit Card scheme for the fishing community. In a long-term vision for sustainable growth, Naidu proposed establishing regional offices of premier research institutes like ICAR-CIBA and ICAR-NBFGR in Andhra Pradesh, and offered to set up a Shrimp Producers Coordination Committee to enable direct farmer-to-market linkages.