US duty on shrimps to hit marine exports

The country's seafood exports would suffer this financial year ending March because an US panel has affirmed the imposition of 10.17 per cent anti-dumping duty on shrimp imports, according to a leading industry official. Shrimp is the major Indian marine export.

Noting that the US is the second largest destination of Indian seafood and exports to that country have already suffered, the official said that the affirmation of the duty by the US International Trade Commission would have an adverse impact on export of seafood.

"It is too early to make any projection in terms of figures" of the impact, said A J Tharakan, president of Seafood Exporters Association of India. "We need to make a detailed assessment of the situation."

Early this year, US said it would impose anti-dumping duty on shrimp imports from India and some other countries such as Thailand, Brazil, Vietnam, China and Ecuador. The duty was imposed retrospectively from Jul. 2004.

Since then, Indian shrimp exports to the US have declined, industry officials said.

In the first six months of this financial year, the European Union replaced US as the biggest recipient of Indian seafood exports.

The EU imported marine products worth Rs 910 crore from India compared with Rs 886 crore by the US during the six months.

In the year ended March, shrimp exports to the US declined 9.8 per cent in value and 15.0 per cent in quantity terms.

India's total marine product exports were Rs 6647 crore in 2004-05. Shrimp accounted for 63.5 per cent of this total value.