Naidu Urges Central Govt To Support Aqua Farmers

Amaravati: Responding to the distress situation among the aqua farmers in Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has appealed to the Centre to stand by the aqua sector which is facing loss due to heavy duty being levied by the United States.

In a letter to Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, the Chief Minister asked the Centre to come to the rescue of aqua farmers by making efforts to exempt the aqua products from this additional duty. Informing the Union Minister that the fisheries sector is playing a crucial role in the State's GDP, Naidu mentioned that the Centre should stand by the aqua farmers when they are in deep crisis.

The Chief Minister mentioned in the letter that the US Administration has imposed a 27 per cent import duty on marine food exports from India. In 2023-24 fiscal marine food products worth $2.55 billion were exported from India to the US of which shrimp alone accounted for 92 per cent, he said. Aqua farmers are facing heavy loss due to the 27 per cent import duty imposed by the US on shrimp exports from India which plays a crucial role in shrimp exports, the Chief Minister pointed out in the letter. The US is imposing a duty of only 10 per cent on exporters like Ecuador which indirectly harms India while benefiting such countries, he mentioned.

The exporters from the country are already bearing a 5.77 per cent Countervailing Duty (CVD), the Chief Minister informed the Union Minister and said that when all these duties are put together India is facing a 20 per cent duty difference compared to Ecuador.

The new US duty imposed afresh came into effect on April 5 due to which all the shipments to the US are to face this additional burden. Products already harvested based on previous orders have been packed and are now in cold storages and ports, the Chief Minister said. Following the new regulations, these too are now subject to increased duties.

In the European Union, Indian exporters face non-tariff barriers including 50 per cent inspection rates and four to seven per cent import duties, Naidu said in the letter to Piyush Goyal and informed him that countries like Vietnam, however, benefit from a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union, enjoying zero-duty access.