Kolkata, India: Buddhadeb Pradhan, a shrimp farmer in Nandigram within the West Bengal state in japanese India, has taken a significant threat by cultivating a second shrimp crop inside weeks of harvesting the primary cycle.
However he wants the cash and is keen to threat a diseased crop, a standard prevalence when there are two harvesting cycles in a pond in the identical yr.
He was partly pushed into making that call due to the falling value of the shrimp on account of the tariffs imposed on India by United States President Donald Trump.
“The falling costs of the shrimp have me stressing if I can get better my funding of 300,000 rupees [$3,380],” he advised Al Jazeera.
India is the world’s second-largest producer of shrimp – predominantly for export – after Ecuador. Within the monetary yr ending in March 2025, it despatched $5bn of frozen shrimp globally, with the US accounting for about 48 % of its gross sales.
It produces two industrial types of marine and freshwater shrimp, black tiger and Pacific whiteleg, popularly referred to as vannamei (Litopenaeus vannamei).
India’s shrimp manufacturing stood at 1.1 million tonnes, predominantly vannamei, but additionally 5 % black tiger, within the monetary yr ending March 2024, as per the most recent knowledge out there.
India has two distinctive shrimp cycles of vannamei, ranging from February to June after which from July to October. Farmers are usually reluctant to go for a second cycle, fearing ailments. The black tiger is a single crop from March to August.
The shrimp is cultivated within the coastal states of West Bengal, Gujarat, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala. The business employs roughly 10 million individuals, together with the shrimp farmers and other people at hatcheries, processing models, and others, stated Manoj Sharma, a veteran shrimp farmer.
For the reason that tariffs had been introduced in Could, farm costs of shrimp dropped from 300 rupees ($3.38) per kilogramme to 230 rupees ($2.59) as farmers tried to dump no matter that they had. With manufacturing prices at 275 rupees ($3.10) per kilogramme, losses are mounting.
Nardu Das, 40, a shrimp farmer in Nandigram, advised Al Jazeera that farmers could be compelled to devour “poison” if the market doesn’t stabilise and costs don’t improve.
The 40-year-old stated shrimp farming is a expensive affair with payments for energy, lease on land, feed and different bills.
“The farmers not solely threat their financial savings but additionally take loans with the hope of huge returns. However ailments and the autumn in costs typically push them to the brink of poverty,” he stated.
Farmers are fearful that with tariffs at 58.26 % – together with countervailing duties of 5.77 % and anti-dumping duties of two.49 % – they are going to lose their US market.
“The US is a most popular vacation spot for shrimp exporters due to simple market entry, increased progress prospects, higher revenue margins, and repeat buyer approvals. The hike in tariffs will discourage farmers from persevering with to spend money on shrimp tradition that additionally incurs upfront prices of land lease, seed and feed,” stated Rahul Guha, senior director of Crisil Scores.
India brings its brood inventory – the time period for the mom shrimp – in chartered flights from the US to breed to provide seeds for farming. However there have been instances the place it’s both of poor high quality or unfit for the Indian setting, in flip resulting in illness among the many shrimp produce, which then needs to be thrown away.
“We now have been demanding the federal government to breed the shrimps utilizing the native brood inventory to be able to get the high-quality seeds that regulate to our circumstances,” stated IPR Mohan Raju, president of the Prawn Farmers Federation of India.
One other spillover of the tariffs has been on hatcheries. India has about 550 non-public hatcheries that rely on these shrimp farmers for his or her livelihood.
A number of farmers, fearing an extra dip in costs of shrimp, have stopped shopping for seeds, and no less than half the hatcheries have already shut down, stated Ravid Kumar Yellanki, president of All India Shrimp Hatcheries Affiliation.
“Undoubtedly, the US tariffs have begun to have a significant influence on the hatcheries, with many halting manufacturing,” Yellanki stated.
These hatcheries produce roughly 80 billion seeds yearly and have drained seven to eight billion seeds prior to now 4 months attributable to no demand from the farmers, because the shelf lifetime of seeds is simply three to 4 days.
“It might be a significant loss to the hatchery house owners if the state of affairs doesn’t flip regular quickly,” Yellanki added.
Ecuador, one other headache
India is already going through stiff competitors from Ecuador, which has been increasing its share of the US market attributable to its geographical proximity to the US.
Ecuador produces high-quality vannamei shrimp at a lower cost, as that’s its home species. Plus, tariffs on it are at 15 %, a lot decrease than India’s, making it a extra engaging marketplace for the US to supply from.
In the course of the first 9 months of 2025, Ecuador exported 1,038,208 metric tonnes of shrimp to the US, up 14 % year-on-year, with a complete worth of $5.51bn, representing a 23 % improve in contrast with the identical interval final yr.
Sharma, the aquaculture knowledgeable, says the US tariffs will power Indian exporters to compete amongst themselves to promote to alternate markets.
His suggestion is for companies to domesticate one oft-ignored market – the home Indian market. There may be “full ignorance of the home market [among exporters] … and that has a number of potential”, he stated.
