India's marine exports jump 18% in April amid US tariff clouds

Price escalation due to the baseline tariff of 10 per cent imposed by the US on all exports from India will be adjusted by the market in the next few months, a senior official said

India’s marine products exports soared by almost 18 per cent in April this year, a month when the United States-- the largest importer of India’s seafood -- rattled the world with its sweeping tariffs only to hit the pause button later.

 

While the marine exports rose by almost 18 per cent in dollar terms, it was 21 per cent in rupee terms in April when compared with the same month last year, data showed.

 

Marine exports in April 2025 was $582 million, which roughly translated into ₹4981 crore.

 

This was, however, lower than the year-on-year growth in dollar terms in marine products exports seen in March 2025 as compared to March 2024 (see chart).

 

The United States accounts for around 35-40 per cent of India’s total marine products exports, primarily shrimps. It is by far the single largest marine exports market for the country. 

 

“In the initial days of April, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding exports to the US due to the 26 per cent reciprocal tariffs imposed. For 2 to 3 days, buyers virtually stopped taking calls from Indian suppliers. However, with the imposition of tariffs paused for three months, the apprehensions somewhat faded away and exports resumed,” a senior industry official said.

 

He said that the price escalation due to the baseline tariff of 10 per cent imposed by the US on all exports from India will be adjusted by the market in the next few months. 

 

The data also showed that before the US tariff threat in April, India’s shrimp exports to the US, which is the biggest component of the overall marine products exports, surged by more than 20 per cent in the first quarter of 2025 calendar year.

 

This was mainly due to shrinking inventories in the US and China.

 

Traders said that Ecuador -- which is the biggest competitor of India in the US shrimp markets and was levied lesser import duty -- was a cause of worry for India, but New Delhi’s superior pricing power and large volume of exports helped it retain the hold.

 

India exported almost $2.3 billion worth of shrimps to the US markets in FY24, which was more than 90 per cent of the total seafood exports to the US.

 

The US comprised 66 per cent of the total shrimps that India exported to the world in FY24, trade data showed.