Please pray for our shrimp farmers - tough times for India’s shrimp trade
Assalamu alaikum - India’s shrimp sector, which supplies much of the world, is facing a serious crisis after steep US tariffs hit export demand.
By a concerned observer
Kolkata, India: Buddhadeb Pradhan, a shrimp farmer in Nandigram, West Bengal, has taken the risky choice of stocking a second crop soon after his first harvest. He knows disease is more likely when ponds are pushed into two cycles a year, but the money is needed and he feels he has little choice.
He told me he’s worried about recovering his 300,000 rupee investment. This industry is largely export-driven - India is the world’s second-largest shrimp producer after Ecuador - and almost half of its frozen shrimp used to go to the US. When prices fall, farmers like Buddhadeb are the first to suffer.
Most farms produce vannamei (Pacific whiteleg) and some black tiger shrimp. Production was over a million tonnes recently, mostly vannamei. Farmers usually avoid a second vannamei cycle because disease risk rises, and black tiger is typically a single crop season.
Shrimp farming is concentrated along the coast - West Bengal, Gujarat, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala - and the sector supports about 10 million people, from pond owners to workers at hatcheries and processing units.
Since the tariffs were introduced, farm gate prices have tumbled - from about 300 rupees/kg to nearer 230 rupees/kg - while production costs remain around 275 rupees/kg. Many farmers are facing real losses.
Nardu Das, another farmer in Nandigram, said farmers may be left with nothing if markets don’t recover. Shrimp farming has high bills: power, land lease, feed, labour. People borrow hoping for good returns; disease outbreaks or price collapses push families toward ruin.
With levies now high, farmers fear losing access to their US buyers, who were preferred for better margins and repeat business. Experts warn higher tariffs will discourage further investment in shrimp culture, which needs upfront spending on land, seed and feed.
India often imports broodstock for seed production, sometimes with poor results when those stocks don’t adapt well and bring disease. Growers and associations have urged the government to support local broodstock breeding so seeds suit local conditions better.
Hatcheries have felt the pain too. India has around 550 private hatcheries; many have halted production as farmers stop buying seeds. Hatcheries produce roughly 80 billion seeds a year, but several billion seeds were lost recently because the shelf life is only a few days and demand evaporated.
Ecuador’s closer proximity to the US and lower tariffs has let it expand market share there, adding to pressure on Indian exporters. That makes it harder for Indian businesses to compete in traditional export markets.
Some experts say the sector must refocus on alternatives, especially the domestic market, which many exporters have overlooked but which could absorb more product if supply chains and demand are developed.
Please remember the farmers in your duas - they’re risking livelihoods to feed many families and keep local economies going. May Allah ease their hardship and guide practical solutions for the industry.
https://www.aljazeera.com/econ