Indian seafood navigates US challenges in 2024, eyes robust recovery in 2025

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In 2024, the Indian seafood sector had to face considerable challenges from the US, its main market, which affected the country’s overall shipments.

Till now the entry of Ecuador and the consequent increase in the supply of seafood in the US market have been the main issues India has had to tackle. However, in the year that went by, fresh duties by the US authorities have threatened to squeeze the Indian seafood export to its major destination.

The imposition of countervailing duty (CVD) at 5.77 per cent and the initiation of investigations into allegations of dumping of Indian produce in the US market by the Department of Commerce could pose considerable problems for Indian exporters.

Unchanged situation

 If the dumping allegations are upheld, anti-dumping duty (ADD) will be imposed in addition to the CVD. Imposition of these levies will decrease the profitability of shrimp exports to the US and also lead to lower value generation down the supply chain, said K.N. Raghavan, Secretary-General of Seafood Exporters Association of India.

Export of ocean-caught shrimp to the US is still banned on account of non-implementation of a programme for installation of Turtle Extruder Devices (TED) in fishing vessels and fishing nets used by India fishermen, he said.

The situation in major markets such as the China, European Union, Japan, and Russia has not changed much. The EU still has a system for examining  50 per cent of consignments that land there to check for the presence of antibiotics. This leads to delays, uncertainties in the supply chain, and increased costs to the exporters.

Exports down 17%

Japan insists on 100 per cent examination of all consignments to check for the presence of antibiotics. Russia has not allowed the listing of new units for exports despite getting clearance from the Export Inspection Council of India. There are about 60-plus units awaiting such listing.

India exported marine products worth $4,946.72 million during April-November 2024 against $5,218 million in 2023, witnessing a 17 per cent drop.

Nithin Awasthi an analyst at InCred Capital, said the oversupply by Ecuador’s shrimp industry in excess of global demand has forced the country into a period of consolidation with the withdrawal of subsidies. As the global demand for shrimp recovers and Ecuador’s production slows, India is poised to capitalize on this market gap. India’s share of shrimp exports in the US exceeded 40 per cent in September and October, demonstrating its growing influence in the market.

A structural downtrend in major input commodities such as feed and fuel will help propel the industry’s growth forward in CY 2025. ”We are likely to witness a significant rise in the dominance of the Indian shrimp industry from the CY2025,” Awasthi said.