12-08-2025
Andhra Pradesh shrimp farmers seek govt. support amid export tariff woes
In a joint meeting held in Ongole on Tuesday, shrimp farmers' associations from Tirupati, Nellore, Prakasam, Bapatla, Guntur, and Krishna districts urged the Andhra Pradesh government to step in and address pressing challenges facing the aquaculture sector.
Prakasam District Shrimp Farmers Association president Duggineni Gopinath highlighted that the sector has been hit hard since former U.S. President Donald Trump increased tariffs on Indian shrimp imports. 'Nearly 40% of our exports go to the U.S., and the increased tariff has severely hurt our earnings,' he said.
Gopinath appealed to the State government to provide 50% subsidy on bank loans for setting up mini processing plants. He also suggested including shrimp in the food menus of social welfare hostels and anganwadi centres to boost domestic consumption.
The farmer leaders demanded a minimum support price (MSP) of ₹470 per kg for 30-count tiger prawns and ₹400 per kg for 30-count Vannamei shrimp. They also sought uninterrupted power supply at ₹1.50 per unit without additional charges, and urged feed companies to lower prices by at least ₹15 per kg.
Resolving to diversify their markets, the farmers said they will focus more on domestic sales and explore exports to South Korea and European countries, rather than depending solely on the U.S. and China.
