US cut in anti-dumping duty on shrimps to boost exports

New rate applies to 229 exporters not targeted for individual examination

The United States, the largest importer of Indian shrimps, has pegged its preliminary anti-dumping duty on the perishable seafood item at an average rate of 1.07 per cent.

The US commerce department has announced the preliminary determinations in the ongoing 11th administrative reviews of the anti-dumping duty orders against frozen warm water shrimp from India and Thailand. The period of review (POR) was from February 1, 2015 to January 31, 2016. 

The new rate applies to 229 Indian producers and exporters not selected for individual examination, sources said. The review-specific average duty in the 11th round was lower than the final tenth review rates, exporters said. The final duty for 2014-15 was 2.20 per cent. 

“Because of the duty being lowered, a lot of major exporters will stand to get duty refunds, which will be a big boost for the exports,” said Rajen Padhy, director general of Utkal Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a seafood consultant.

The US is a major importer of Indian seafood with a share of 28.46 per cent in terms of dollar. The total exports to the US stood at $ 1334.05 million in 2015-16. While the exports had registered a growth of 18.53 per cent in terms of quantity, it showed a decline of 2.23 per cent in rupee terms and 8.52 per cent in dollar terms. 

The US is the largest market (1,34,144 tonnes) for frozen shrimp followed by the European Union (81,849 tonnes), South East Asia (65,188 tonnes), Japan (34,204 tonnes), Middle East countries (17,477 tonnes), China (9542 tonnes) and other countries (31,464 tonnes). 

The commerce department is scheduled to issue its final results within 120 days of publication of its preliminary determination notices in the federal register (sometime in early July 2017), although that deadline can be and usually is extended by an additional 60 days, sources said.