Indian Shrimp Farmers Battle US Tariffs, Prices Take Hit

Kolkata, India – In Nandigram, West Bengal, shrimp farmer Buddhadeb Pradhan is taking a gamble that could make or break him. Just weeks after harvesting his first shrimp crop, he has decided to cultivate a second cycle, despite the high risk of disease that comes with back-to-back harvests. The decision is driven not by ambition, but by necessity: falling shrimp prices following new US tariffs threaten his livelihood.

India, the world’s second-largest shrimp producer after Ecuador, exported $5 billion worth of frozen shrimp in the year ending March 2025, with nearly half of that going to the United States. The tariffs imposed by the US have sent farm prices plunging from 300 rupees ($3.38) per kilogram to 230 rupees ($2.59), while production costs remain at 275 rupees ($3.10). For farmers like Pradhan, the gap between cost and sale price is creating mounting losses.

“The falling prices of shrimp have me stressing if I can recover my investment of 300,000 rupees,” Pradhan said. Other local farmers, including Nardu Das, warn that without market stabilization, the risk of financial ruin is real, forcing some to desperate measures. Shrimp farming, they say, is a costly enterprise involving loans, feed, power, and land leases, with disease and price drops pushing many to the brink.

India produces two main shrimp varieties: black tiger and Pacific whiteleg, or vannamei. While vannamei supports two annual cycles – February to June and July to October – farmers are wary of the second cycle due to disease risk. Black tiger shrimp is harvested once a year from March to August. The coastal states of West Bengal, Gujarat, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala host the bulk of production, employing roughly 10 million people across farming, hatcheries, and processing.

The US tariffs, including countervailing duties and anti-dumping duties totaling over 58 percent, threaten to shut Indian farmers out of their largest market. Ecuador, by contrast, exports high-quality vannamei shrimp to the US at lower tariffs of just 15 percent. In the first nine months of 2025, Ecuador’s exports to the US surged 14 percent year-on-year to 1,038,208 metric tonnes, valued at $5.51 billion.

The fallout reaches beyond the farms themselves. India’s 550 private shrimp hatcheries, which produce roughly 80 billion seeds annually, have seen demand drop sharply. With half already closed, hatchery owners face severe losses, as shrimp seeds have a shelf life of just three to four days.

Industry insiders note that Indian farmers depend on imported brood stock from the US, but inconsistent quality sometimes leads to disease outbreaks. This, coupled with tariff-driven price drops, has sparked calls for developing local brood stock to stabilize farming.

With the US market increasingly inaccessible and Ecuador gaining an edge, Indian shrimp farmers are weighing their options. Some see hope in exploring the domestic market, which remains largely untapped, while others brace for tough months ahead, balancing financial risk with survival.