Taming of the shrimp

By Gurvinder Singh

Buddhadeb Pradhan, a shrimp farmer in Nandigram, West Bengal, has taken a major risk by cultivating a second shrimp crop within weeks of harvesting the first cycle.

But he needs the money and is willing to risk a diseased crop, a common occurrence when there are two harvesting cycles in a pond in the same year.

He was partly pushed into making that decision because of the falling price of the shrimp on account of the tariffs imposed on India by United States President Donald Trump.
“The falling prices of the shrimp have me stressing if I can recover my investment of Rs 300,000 ($3,380),” he told Al Jazeera.

India is the world’s second-largest producer of shrimp – predominantly for export – after Ecuador. In the financial year which ended in March 2025, it sent $5 billion of frozen shrimp globally, with the US accounting for about 48 per cent of its sales.

It produces two commercial varieties of marine and freshwater shrimp, black tiger and Pacific whiteleg, popularly known as vannamei (Litopenaeus vannamei).

India’s shrimp production stood at 1.1 million tonne, predominantly vannamei, but also 5 per cent black tiger, in March 2024, as per the latest data available.
India has two distinctive shrimp cycles of vannamei, starting from February to June and then from July to October. Farmers are generally reluctant to go for a second cycle, fearing diseases. The black tiger is a single crop from March to August.

The shrimp is cultivated in the coastal states of West Bengal, Gujarat, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala. The industry employs approximately 10 million people, including the shrimp farmers and people at hatcheries, processing units, and others, said Manoj Sharma, a veteran shrimp farmer.
Since the tariffs were announced in May, farm prices of shrimp dropped from Rs 300 ($3.38) per kilogramme to Rs 230 ($2.59) as farmers tried to offload whatever they had. With production costs at Rs 275 ($3.10) per kilogramme, losses are mounting.

Nardu Das, 40, a shrimp farmer in Nandigram, told Al Jazeera that farmers might be forced to consume “poison” if the market doesn’t stabilise and prices do not increase.

The 40-year-old said shrimp farming is a costly affair with bills for power, lease on land, feed and other expenses.

“The farmers not only risk their savings but also take loans with the hope of massive returns. But diseases and the fall in prices often push them to the brink of poverty,” he said.

Farmers are worried that with tariffs at 58.26 per cent – including countervailing duties of 5.77 per cent and anti-dumping duties of 2.49 per cent – they will lose their US market.

“The US is a preferred destination for shrimp exporters because of easy market access, higher growth prospects, better profit margins, and repeat customer approvals. The hike in tariffs will discourage farmers from continuing to invest in shrimp culture that also incurs upfront costs of land lease, seed and feed,” said Rahul Guha, senior director at Crisil Ratings.

US tariffs have dealt a deadly blow to Indian shrimp industry that relies predominantly on exports

India brings its brood stock – the term for the mother shrimp – in chartered flights from the US to breed to produce seeds for farming. But there have been cases where it is either of poor quality or unfit for the Indian environment, in turn leading to disease among the shrimp produce, which then has to be thrown away.
“We have been demanding the Government to breed the shrimps using local brood stock in order to get the high-quality seeds that adjust to our conditions,” said IPR Mohan Raju, President of the Prawn Farmers Federation of India.

Another spillover of the tariffs has been on hatcheries. India has about 550 private hatcheries that depend on these shrimp farmers for their livelihood.

Several farmers, fearing a further dip in prices of shrimp, have stopped buying seeds, and at least half the hatcheries have already shut down, said Ravid Kumar Yellanki, President of All India Shrimp Hatcheries Association.
“Undoubtedly, the US tariffs have begun to have a major impact on the hatcheries, with many halting production,” Yellanki said.

These hatcheries produce approximately 80 billion seeds annually and have drained seven to eight billion seeds in the past four months due to no demand from farmers, as the shelf life of seeds is just three to four days.
“It would be a major loss to the hatchery owners if the situation doesn’t turn normal soon,” Yellanki added.

About the author
Gurvinder Singh is a freelance journalist based in Kolkata. He writes for various media organisations in India and abroad. He wrote this article for Al Jazeera.
******