Indian shrimp production faces a triple set back early this year caused by low prices, unpredicted summer rains and newly imposed trade tariffs in the United States, India’s major export market.
Few farmers adopted early harvests while few of them scaled back on production and some have shifted from traditionally dominant vannamei shrimp to P. monodon, black tiger shrimp or Fish.
Summer harvests were disappointing when compared to the past years. The unpredicted high rainfall, especially in the second half of May posed a big challenge for shrimp farmers as water quality parameters such as water pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen content and temperature changed drastically.
This has caused a forced harvest of crops due to unfavorable climatic conditions, occurrence of white spot disease and unstable farmgate prices.
India’s shrimp production has stagnated in recent years as prices have decreased. Andhra Pradesh contributes to three-quarters of the national output which is currently estimated at around 850,000 metric tons.
Kontali, a Norwegian seafood data and analysis provider has observed that Farmgate prices for larger-sized (30 shrimp per kilogram) shrimp plunged this year in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal. Only Gujarat showed a substantial increase in
farmgate prices for all shrimp sizes according to the latest Data analysis.
In many areas in southern Andhra Pradesh a shift was made to black tiger prawn farming as it commands a better market price. The cost of production is low compared to vannamei though it takes more time to grow to commercial size.
Most of the exporters had to scale back on production, due to the additional costs of the preliminary duties imposed by the US. The final determination is scheduled in October on the countervailing duties that can impact India and the competitor exporters like Ecuador and Vietnam.
India is by far third in global shrimp production and the largest exporter of shrimp to the United States. 296,000 metric tons was supplied to the US market last year, worth more than $2.3 billion (€2.1 billion).
India’s shrimp industry has come under an uncalled controversy following the separate report by US-based non-profit group the Corporate Accountability Lab, the Associated Press news agency and investigative journalism group The Outlaw Ocean Project published in the month of March this year.
The chairman of the Marine Products Export Development Authority addressed the controversy by dismissing the allegations as “baseless and unsubstantiated”.
Blogger:
Dr. Sathish Prasad
Senior Scientist – Aquatic Animal Health
Growel Innovation Center,
RS NO.57, Chevuru Village, Sriharipuram Panchayat, Mudinepalli Mandal, Krishna District – Andhra Pradesh India – 521329
Email: [email protected]