Production glut hits shrimp farmers

Vanamei shrimp farmers in the state are getting Rs 240 per kg of 40 count at a time when exporters in the neighbouring Tamil Nadu are paying Rs 340 for the same

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Andhra Pradesh is witnessing a fall in prices of seafood exports, particularly the vanamei shrimp which it exports to the US and European markets due to a glut in production and on allegations of cartelisation practices among the local exporters to avoid competition from other producers in the country.

Presently, vanamei shrimp farmers in the state get Rs 240 per kg of 40 count at a time when exporters in the neighbouring Tamil Nadu pay Rs 340 for the same. Prices a month ago have been at Rs 320 per kg in the state, said I P R Mohan Raju, president, Prawn Farmers Federation of India.

Last year, Andhra Pradesh farmers produced 160,000 tonnes of vanamei shrimp whereas this year, the production is high at 200,000 tonnes.

States like Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Gujarat, West Bengal, Kerala and Maharashtra are offering prices according to international prices, with the exception of Andhra Pradesh where the seafood exporters are paying very low rates and enjoying huge margins on shrimp exports, he added.

“Notwithstanding the irregularities by state exporters, we have made an oral complaint on the cartel prevailing among the Andhra seafood exporters to the monopoly trade practice restriction body and the Marine Products Exports Development Agency (Mpeda),” Raju said.

In Andhra Pradesh, a majority of shrimp processing and cold storage units are wrested in the hands of a few big exporters who are playing havoc by capitalising on the farmers’ dependency on harvesting and processing plants of these exporters, he added.

However, to overcome the exploitation, the Prawn Farmers Federation of India has recently proposed to set up 1.5 tonne per hour capacity mobile shrimp processing units in coastal areas. “The National Fisheries Development Board has appreciated our efforts and agreed to give 40 per cent subsidy on the project cost.”

Shrugging off the allegations levelled against the Andhra exporters by the Prawn Farmers Federation of India, D B Ravi Reddy, national president, Seafood Exports Association of India, said: “Due to over production, the farmers in Andhra Pradesh are coming forward to sell their produce at lower prices. Normally, exporters offer rates according to the prevailing international prices.”

Tamil Nadu exports its shrimp to Japan where the prices are usually high in comparison to the US and Europe. Traditionally, exporters in Andhra Pradesh largely send their produce to the US and Europe.