Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Friday urged the Union government to adopt policy measures to stabilise the prices of raw materials used in shrimp feed production, highlighting that the sharp increase in input costs is severely affecting aqua farmers and seafood exports.
During a meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at his official residence, the Chief Minister said the aquaculture sector provides livelihoods to lakhs of farmers, workers, processing units, exporters, hatcheries, feed manufacturers and several allied industries.
Even a minor disruption in feed availability has a direct impact on aqua farmers' livelihoods and export performance, he noted. Referring to representations made by the Shrimp Feed Manufacturers Association, the Chief Minister said shrimp feed prices increased significantly between January and April this year, pushing production costs up by more than 20 per cent.
The cost of producing one tonne of shrimp feed has gone up by Rs 25,000. According to an official release, the Chief Minister requested the Centre to promote the domestic market for shrimp and aquaculture products, encourage Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), strengthen market linkages, support branding, processing and retail integration and establish an institutional framework to protect the sector from fluctuations in global demand.
He also sought financial assistance through the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) for establishing the Andhra Pradesh Prawn Producers Coordination Committee with a Rs 100-crore corpus fund. The Chief Minister urged the Centre to negotiate with the United States to reduce tariffs on Indian seafood exports.
He pointed out that the US has imposed a 5.77 per cent countervailing duty on Indian shrimp exports and is also considering an anti-dumping duty. He warned that the proposed reciprocal tariffs by the US administration would severely affect Andhra Pradesh, which accounts for nearly 80 per cent of India's shrimp exports.
He noted that nearly 30 lakh people in the State depend on the aquaculture sector for their livelihood and requested the Centre to seek either the removal of the existing 30 per cent customs duty on seafood exports or an exemption in the interest of farmers.
Naidu also urged the Centre to identify and expand access to alternative international markets for aqua products. The Chief Minister informed the Union Finance Minister that placing tobacco products in the highest GST slab since the introduction of GST has adversely impacted tobacco farmers.
Industry stakeholders have expressed concern over the heavy excise duty on cigarettes, which is further subjected to GST. He said manufacturers in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have reduced procurement. As a result, this year's auction process in Andhra Pradesh has been significantly slower than last season.
Against an estimated production of 230 million kilograms, only 34 million kilograms have been procured so far. The Chief Minister warned that reduced procurement is affecting farmers, agricultural labourers, auction workers, transport operators and MSMEs.
He also highlighted that the widening price gap between legal cigarettes and illicit tobacco products could encourage smuggling and tax evasion. The CM urged the Centre to take immediate measures to safeguard tobacco farmers.