India casts wider net for seafood exports as US tariffs bite
Union minister for fisheries Rajiv Ranjan Singh said the government is looking at the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan, China, Korea, and West Asia to widen the reach for India's seafood exports.
'We have asked them (seafood exporters) to face the current challenge bravely. There are alternative markets available…," Singh said during a press briefing on Monday. 'The EU, Japan, South Korea, UK, Russia, Australia, West Asia, South East Asia, and many countries are available for export of Indian seafoods."
India exported marine products worth $7.39 billion in 2024-25, of which $2.68 billion, or about 36%, went to the US, according to the Marine Products Export Development Authority. Frozen shrimp accounted for a major share of these shipments.
But Indian seafood shipments to the US are set to attract a total tariff of 59.7%, comprising countervailing and anti-dumping duties of 9.7%, up from 9.7% earlier, after US President Donald Trump announced additional levies of 25% effective 7 August and another 25% from 27 August.
The burden is expected to be particularly heavy on shrimp, India's biggest seafood export.
The Seafood Export Association of India has approached the commerce and finance ministries seeking emergency financial support, including a 30% increase in working capital through soft loans, news agency PTI reported on Sunday.
Meanwhile, India's seafood exports to the United Kingdom are expected to increase after the two nations signed a landmark free trade agreement in July, eliminating tariffs on 99% of Indian exports. Under the FTA, the UK's import duties on Indian marine products will fall to zero from 20%.
'India's share in the UK's $5.4 billion seafood import market is just 2.25%. With CETA (the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) now in force, industry estimates project a 70% surge in marine exports to the UK in the coming years," India's ministry of fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying said in a statement after the India-UK FTA was announced.
A wider net
Rama Shankar Naik, commissioner of fisheries in Andhra Pradesh, said while India's seafood has significant scope in the domestic market, there is an urgent need to tap new overseas buyers.
'We have to look at new markets such as the Middle East, Russia, South Korea, and Europe," he said, noting that India's share in seafood exports to European countries had dropped to 11% from above 35% earlier.
Andhra Pradesh leads India's seafood exports with nearly a 70% share, followed by Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat and Odisha.
The US's 40% transhipment duty on Vietnam has added another woe for Indian exporters, traders said. The Southeast Asian country sources a significant volume of raw and semi-processed shrimp from India for value addition before re-exporting to the US. If Vietnam's shrimp export market contracts due to the US's duty, demand for Indian shrimp would also drop.
In FY25, India exported marine products worth $381.77 million to Vietnam, down from $392.55 million in the year before, according to the commerce ministry data.
India is preparing to counter the US's stiff tariffs on Indian goods by targeting new markets and offering incentives for exporters, Mint reported on 8 August. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is particularly focused on protecting the interests of India's farmers and fishermen.
As part of those efforts, the government is looking to set up trade desks in regions like Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, which could unlock more than $60 billion in untapped export potential.
India is also exploring new markets for agricultural and processed food products, including Nigeria, Switzerland, and Lithuania, Mint reported on 2 August.
While the US has announced a 50% tariff on Indian goods, it has reduced the tariff for Vietnam from 46% to 20%, for Indonesia from 32% to 19%, and for Bangladesh from 37% to 20%.
Indian exports in sectors such as apparel, auto components, leather goods, and certain foods are expected to be the worst hit by Trump's tariffs on India.
India exported goods worth $86.5 billion to the US in FY25, or about 20% of the country's total merchandise exports of $433.56 billion.
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