India is world’s second-largest shrimp producer. That is now under threat

Kolkata, India: Buddhadeb Pradhan, a shrimp husbandman successful Nandigram successful the West Bengal authorities successful eastbound India, has taken a large hazard by cultivating a 2nd shrimp harvest wrong weeks of harvesting the archetypal cycle.

But helium needs the wealth and is consenting to hazard a diseased crop, a communal occurrence erstwhile determination are 2 harvesting cycles successful a pond successful the aforesaid year.

He was partially pushed into making that determination due to the fact that of the falling terms of the shrimp connected relationship of the tariffs imposed connected India by United States President Donald Trump.

“The falling prices of the shrimp person maine stressing if I tin retrieve my concern of 300,000 rupees [$3,380],” helium told Al Jazeera.

India is the world’s second-largest shaper of shrimp – predominantly for export – aft Ecuador. In the fiscal twelvemonth ending successful March 2025, it sent $5bn of frozen shrimp globally, with the US accounting for astir 48 percent of its sales.

It produces 2 commercialized varieties of marine and freshwater shrimp, achromatic tiger and Pacific whiteleg, popularly known arsenic vannamei (Litopenaeus vannamei).

India’s shrimp accumulation stood astatine 1.1 cardinal tonnes, predominantly vannamei, but besides 5 percent achromatic tiger, successful the fiscal twelvemonth ending March 2024, arsenic per the latest information available.

India has 2 distinctive shrimp cycles of vannamei, starting from February to June and past from July to October. Farmers are mostly reluctant to spell for a 2nd cycle, fearing diseases. The achromatic tiger is simply a azygous harvest from March to August.

The shrimp is cultivated successful the coastal states of West Bengal, Gujarat, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala. The manufacture employs astir 10 cardinal people, including the shrimp farmers and radical astatine hatcheries, processing units, and others, said Manoj Sharma, a seasoned shrimp farmer.

Since the tariffs were announced successful May, workplace prices of shrimp dropped from 300 rupees ($3.38) per kilogramme to 230 rupees ($2.59) arsenic farmers tried to offload immoderate they had. With accumulation costs astatine 275 rupees ($3.10) per kilogramme, losses are mounting.

Buddhadeb Pradhan has taken a large hazard by cultivating a 2nd shrimp harvest [Gurvinder Singh/Al Jazeera]

Nardu Das, 40, a shrimp husbandman successful Nandigram, told Al Jazeera that farmers mightiness beryllium forced to devour “poison” if the marketplace doesn’t stabilise and prices bash not increase.

The 40-year-old said shrimp farming is simply a costly matter with bills for power, lease connected land, provender and different expenses.

“The farmers not lone hazard their savings but besides instrumentality loans with the anticipation of monolithic returns. But diseases and the autumn successful prices often propulsion them to the brink of poverty,” helium said.

Farmers are disquieted that with tariffs astatine 58.26 percent – including countervailing duties of 5.77 percent and anti-dumping duties of 2.49 percent – they volition suffer their US market.

“The US is simply a preferred destination for shrimp exporters due to the fact that of casual marketplace access, higher maturation prospects, amended nett margins, and repetition lawsuit approvals. The hike successful tariffs volition discourage farmers from continuing to put successful shrimp civilization that besides incurs upfront costs of onshore lease, effect and feed,” said Rahul Guha, elder manager of Crisil Ratings.

India brings its brood banal – the word for the parent shrimp – successful chartered flights from the US to breed to nutrient seeds for farming. But determination person been cases wherever it is either of mediocre prime oregon unfit for the Indian environment, successful crook starring to illness among the shrimp produce, which past has to beryllium thrown away.

“We person been demanding the authorities to breed the shrimps utilizing the section brood banal successful bid to get the high-quality seeds that set to our conditions,” said IPR Mohan Raju, president of the Prawn Farmers Federation of India.

Another spillover of the tariffs has been connected hatcheries. India has astir 550 backstage hatcheries that beryllium connected these shrimp farmers for their livelihood.

Several farmers, fearing a further dip successful prices of shrimp, person stopped buying seeds, and astatine slightest fractional the hatcheries person already unopen down, said Ravid Kumar Yellanki, president of All India Shrimp Hatcheries Association.

“Undoubtedly, the US tariffs person begun to person a large interaction connected the hatcheries, with galore halting production,” Yellanki said.

These hatcheries nutrient astir 80 cardinal seeds annually and person drained 7 to 8 cardinal seeds successful the past 4 months owed to nary request from the farmers, arsenic the support beingness of seeds is conscionable 3 to 4 days.

“It would beryllium a large nonaccomplishment to the hatchery owners if the concern doesn’t crook mean soon,” Yellanki added.

Nardu Das said farmers mightiness beryllium forced to devour ‘poison’ if the marketplace doesn’t stabilise and if prices bash not emergence soon [Gurvinder Singh/Al Jazeera]

Ecuador, different headache

India is already facing stiff contention from Ecuador, which has been expanding its stock of the US marketplace owed to its geographical proximity to the US.

Ecuador produces high-quality vannamei shrimp astatine a little price, arsenic that is its home species. Plus, tariffs connected it are astatine 15 percent, overmuch little than India’s, making it a much charismatic marketplace for the US to root from.

During the archetypal 9 months of 2025, Ecuador exported 1,038,208 metric tonnes of shrimp to the US, up 14 percent year-on-year, with a full worth of $5.51bn, representing a 23 percent summation compared with the aforesaid play past year.

Sharma, the aquaculture expert, says the US tariffs volition unit Indian exporters to vie among themselves to merchantability to alternate markets.

His proposition is for businesses to cultivate 1 oft-ignored marketplace – the home Indian market. There is “complete ignorance of the home marketplace [among exporters] … and that has a batch of potential”, helium said.