Decline in shrimp exports to China makes shrimps cheaper in India for domestic market

India’s shrimp exports to China have been witnessing a sharp decline, and that has made shrimps cheaper in the domestic markets by 30-40 per cent since March 2021.

Given that China is the second largest purchaser of Indian shrimps after the USA, it has impacted exports quite severely.

According to shrimp exporters, since China was a very large market for the small-sized shrimps weighing 10 grams to 17 grams and now the demand for these sizes are becoming soft. The farm gate prices of shrimps have been declining by about 14 per cent and more since March this year.

More than thousand containers of shrimp have been estimated to be stranded at Chinese ports because the nation raised considerations about following covid protocol in the packaging of the shrimp, ready for clearance.

Despite advisory to the exporters to strictly follow the covid protocol established by Agricultural and Processed Foods Development Authority, China has yet to resolve the issue through diplomatic channels.

Currently, exporters are being advised to avoid exporting to China for some time.

Fall in costs of shrimps coupled with a jump in the cost of production due to record high prices of shrimp feed ingredient soyabean, has forced the small players to shut operations In effect, the shrimp industry is suffering due to lower exports, low demand in India due to fall in out of home consumption and increase in the cost of shrimp feed by about 40 per cent.

Source: indoasiancommodities.com