India finds new seafood buyers in Asia after US tariffs
Indian exporters turn to China and Japan following heavy US duties, but reduced prices threaten industry recovery.
INDIA – India is redirecting its seafood exports toward Asian markets after the United States imposed steep tariffs that disrupted a sector once heavily dependent on American buyers.
The shift, however, has come at a financial loss, as seafood sold to China and Japan earns Indian exporters barely half of what the US market previously offered.
Data from the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) for 2023–24 shows that seafood shipments to the US reached 329,000 tonnes at an average price of about US$7.74 per kilogram, while exports to China rose to 452,000 tonnes at roughly US$3.07 per kilogram.
Japan imported 107,000 tonnes from India during the same period, paying around US$3.70 per kilogram, while Canada, which offers similar prices to the US, imported a much smaller volume of 25,000 tonnes at around US$7.98 per kilogram.
The US had been India’s top seafood destination, accounting for about 35 percent of exports valued at US$7.38 billion before Washington imposed a 59.73 percent tariff on Indian seafood products.
That decision hit the industry hard, prompting the Indian government to search for alternative markets. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visits to China and Japan were widely seen as attempts to secure new buyers and reduce the economic fallout.
Still, exporters and analysts agree that China and Japan cannot fully make up for the revenue loss from the US, even though they purchase more seafood by volume.
“The US market is known for demanding premium-quality shrimp, particularly large, headless varieties, while China mostly imports smaller, whole shrimp at cheaper rates,” said Gulrez Alam, Secretary of the Shrimp Feed Manufacturers Association.
Industry participants say the shift has also exposed a long-term structural problem. India has gradually lost a significant share of its high-value market in the European Union, leaving exporters more reliant on low-margin destinations.
Andhra Pradesh pushes for EU trade relief
Andhra Pradesh, responsible for more than 75 percent of India’s seafood exports, has been lobbying for a Free Trade Agreement with the EU to stabilize prices and reopen premium markets.
According to reports, the state government and industry associations have written to central ministries requesting assistance similar to the relief measures introduced during the Covid-19 period.
Without new trade arrangements, exporters warn that India’s seafood industry could continue to suffer from shrinking profit margins despite rising export volumes.
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