Indian seafood exports to face significant pressure due to US reciprocal tariffs, says FICCI study

India's exports of fish, meat, and processed seafood are valued at US USD 2.58 billion with six product categories--Frozen Shrimp, Frozen Fish, Fish Meal and Fish Feed, Frozen Squid, Surimi & Analogue Products, and Frozen Cuttlefish--accounting for 94 per cent of total export value.

US is India's largest seafood export market, holding a 34.5 per cent share of total export value. Frozen shrimp dominates, contributing 91.9 per cent of the export value (USD 2.34 billion) and 90.4 per cent of the volume (2.97 lakh tonnes).

"Indian seafood exports will face significant pressure following the imposition of the US reciprocal tariffs," the study said.

India competes with countries like Canada, Ecuador, Indonesia and Vietnam in these categories. Other Latin American countries also compete in the market.

The new tariff regime by the US is likely to tilt the dominance of Asian countries in this market towards Latin American countries primarily due to the relative tariff advantage that latter countries have gained after the reciprocal tariff announcements.

Ecuador and several smaller producers such as Argentina, Honduras, Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, and Saudi Arabia have a competitive advantage now and hence may gain market share.

The industry body highlighted that while tariffs on India are relatively lower than Indonesia and Vietnam, Indian exporters will, however find it challenging to maintain their strong foothold in the US market in these categories.

"Also, the domestic shrimp industry in the US is likely to become competitive and may enhance production and increase its share in domestic consumption," FICCI said in its report.

On April 2, US President Trump announced widespread imposition of tariffs on countries worldwide. In February, soon after taking charge for the second time, Trump outlined a new trade policy focused "on fairness and reciprocity" and said that the US would implement reciprocal tariffs, charging other countries the same tariffs they impose on American goods.

Trump said that tariffs would address "unfair trade practices, including non-monetary barriers, subsidies, and VAT systems", while encouraging foreign countries to either reduce or eliminate tariffs against the US.

As per the announcements, the import tariffs on other major countries are China (34 per cent), the European Union (20 per cent), Vietnam (46 per cent), Taiwan (32 per cent), Japan (24 per cent), India (26 per cent), the United Kingdom (10 per cent), Bangladesh (37 per cent), Pakistan (29 per cent), Sri Lanka (44 per cent), and Israel (17 per cent). (ANI)