The shrimp farmers in Andhra Pradesh have been hit hard by the rising cost of feed and ‘unaffordable’ power tariff amid stiff competition from their counterparts from Ecuador and other countries, the Prakasam Shrimp Farmers’ Association has said.
‘’The aquaculture sector is in the doldrums and the situation calls for proactive steps from the Union and State governments to create a conducive atmosphere for shrimp farmers,” association general secretary D.Gopinath told the media here on March 31 (Friday).
Shrimp prices, which plummeted to below ₹200 per kg for a count of 100 in December 2022, have recovered to ₹260 per kg now. Yet, farmers are not in a position to achieve break-even, given the high cost of feed and high power tariff. These two components account for an additional cost of ₹70 per kg. As a result, shrimp farmers here are unable to compete with their overseas counterparts, explained Mr. Gopinath.
The feed cost continued to be high at ₹86 per kg, despite a fall in the prices of inputs including soybean and imported minerals, he added.
“Electricity should be made available to shrimp farmers at a subsidised rate of ₹1.50 per unit irrespective of the size of the unit,” association president S. Anji Reddy said.
A majority of shrimp farmers in Prakasam did not get the benefit of the reduced power tariff. Most of them shelled out ₹4 per unit as they took up aquaculture in degraded ‘DKT’ wasteland, he maintained, adding that the farmers mulled crop holiday this season after incurring a loss of over ₹1 lakh per acre last season.
Single-window clearance sought
As a fallout, a majority of the 50 hatcheries in the district had downed their shutters. “The Central government should put in place a single-window clearance system for the hatcheries which find the going tough due to many regulating agencies,” said Prakasam District Hatcheries Association president A.V. Satyanarayana Raju.
The Coastal Aquaculture Authority Act should be amended to promote aquaculture in coastal areas, while protecting the environment, said its general secretary P. Subba Rao.
Otherwise, the production of shrimps, which is to the tune of ₹50,000 crore now, would drastically fall by over 50%, affecting the livelihood of all stakeholders in the coastal region, said association joint secretary Subbaji Chowdary.
