Re rise dents seafood exports

The sharply appreciating rupee has wiped out gains from the reduction in anti-dumping duty on marine products by the US earlier, said A J Tharkan, president, Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI).

Thanks to the rupee's rise, Indian exporters are now finding their products being outpriced in the global markets of the US, the EU and Japan, giving leeway to other Asian players such as China, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The cost of the raw material comprises major portion of the price.

It is difficult for exporters to lower prices paid to the fishermen or aqua farmers in line with the appreciating rupee because it will not be viable for either of them due to the high input costs, he added.

India's seafood exports, including high value products such as shrimp, squid, cuttlefish and crab, account for Rs 8,300 crore annually.

If adequate remunerative prices are not paid for aqua culture produce, the farmers will leave ponds idle for want of a minimum input cost to start culturing shrimp or fish. He asked the finance and commerce ministries to provide adequate support to the seafood export industry by substantially lowering interest costs for pre- and post- shipment finance, removing any form of service tax on exports and providing higher rates under the DEPB scheme to make Indian seafood internationally competitive.