Tirupati MP urges Centre to save aquaculture farmers

The aquaculture farmers in Andhra Pradesh are facing severe financial crisis due to the halt in shrimp exports to the United States, said Tirupati MP Maddila Gurumoorthy in the Lok Sabha on Monday (August 11, 2025).

He urged the Central government to allocate funds for the establishment of cold storage infrastructure facilities in the State and to provide alternative international export markets to protect the interests of aquaculture farmers.

The MP said, “About 70% of the shrimps produced from the State are exported to the U.S. In Tirupati district alone, over 28,000 acres are under shrimp cultivation and more than 1.25 lakh tonnes are produced annually.”

“However, the U.S. government’s recent decision to impose 50% import duty on the imports of shrimp has affected the market badly. The prices have fallen by ₹230 per quintal within 48 hours due to the halt in the exports to the U.S. and as a result, the farmers have lost between ₹50,000 and ₹80,000 per tonne,” he said.

Mr. Gurumoorthy expressed regret that the farmers are not able to recover their investment costs due to this fall in prices, and they are under severe financial pressure.

He said that although China and local processing units were considered as alternative markets, they failed to provide adequate support to the farmers. The livelihood of thousands of shrimp farmers is at risk due to this ongoing crisis, he added.