Months after the US tariff shock, are facing renewed financial pressure from a hike in aqua feed prices, significantly increasing production costs and prompting threats of protests.
According to industry estimates, feed maker companies have increased prices by Rs 12-16 per kg with effect from June 13. The hike comes at a time when shrimp farmers are still recovering from the disruptions and losses caused by the US tariffs.
Farmers operating aqua ponds, which require thousands of kilograms of feed every week, are now feeling the pinch.
“The cost of feed is up by at least Rs 12,000-Rs 14,000 per tonne of feed. Feed is 50 percent of the expenditure in a shrimp pond. From Rs 2-3 lakh, the investment has now risen to over Rs 4 lakh. How can farmers afford to pay such steep prices? They are already reeling from the US tariffs row a few months back,” said Duggineni Gopinath, a leader of a shrimp farmers’ association.
For their part, aqua feed companies cite rising fuel and transportation costs.
“Price rise was inevitable because prices of raw materials, fuel, and transportation have gone up. Some increased prices in February. Small companies cannot sustain without this price hike,” said Alluri Krishna, owner of a Kakinada-based aqua feed company.
Shrimp farmers’ leader Gopinath said about 2.5 lakh aqua farmers were reeling under the impact of the price rise. Last year, as US tariffs touched nearly 60 percent, shrimp farmers either halted or scaled down production. The Andhra Pradesh government had estimated losses of about Rs 25,000 crore. While the withdrawal of the tariffs eased pressure on the sector, many farmers say they are yet to fully recover from the losses incurred during that period.
Andhra’s shrimp economy
India exports approximately 8 lakh tonnes of shrimp a year, with Andhra Pradesh accounting for over 60 percent of production. The state accounts for 80 percent of the country’s shrimp exports and 34 percent of marine exports, valued at around Rs 21,246 crore annually.
The state has 2.5 lakh aqua farmer families, of which 2 lakh are small and medium farmers. Another 30 lakh people depend on allied sectors. According to the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India exported a record 17,81,602 MT of seafood worth US$ 7.38 billion (Rs 60,523.89 crore) in 2023-24, of which frozen shrimp alone accounted for 92 percent — a significant share from Andhra Pradesh.
Even before the latest hike, per-acre investment in shrimp farming had already risen, driven by fears of diseases and viral infections in ponds, forcing farmers to spend more on medicines, disease prevention and pond management. The latest increase is now compounding that strain.
Farmers say they did not see the hike coming.
“Investments almost doubled due to the feed price hike but there is no corresponding rise in prices of shrimp so we have to absorb the losses. Small and medium farmers, who comprise the majority of the shrimp farmers, are the worst affected. Many of them have taken loans, and if profits are less, they will find it difficult to repay. Feed companies also broke the rule of always informing the farmers before increasing the prices,” said B Balaram, who has two one-acre ponds in Palacole.
Y Satyam, another small shrimp farmer from Bhimavaram, said aqua feed prices have increased by nearly Rs 16 per kilogram between February and June, while shrimp market prices have fallen below production costs, causing heavy losses to farmers.
As prices continue to climb, the Andhra Pradesh government has sought to intervene, announcing a 15-member AP Shrimp Feed Ingredients Price Monitoring Committee with representatives from the State Institute of Fisheries Technology (SIFT), Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA), A.P. State Aquaculture Development Authority (APSADA) and aqua farmers’ associations.
“The committee will regulate the feed prices, put a check on unnecessary price hikes and bring transparency into pricing policies,” Agriculture and Fisheries Minister K Atchannaidu said.
But so far, the intervention has made little difference, with shrimp farmers now announcing a statewide protest on July 1.
The issue has also become a political flashpoint. On Wednesday, after representatives of the AP Prawn Federation met him, former chief minister and YSRCP president Y S announced that he would join the protest.
