Shrimp sector appeals to PM to promote domestic consumption
While India has one of the largest aquaculture sectors globally, with an export base of ₹40,000 crore, the domestic shrimp market remains underdeveloped
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REUTERS
Hit hard by US tariffs, the shrimp sector in the country has developed a structured plan to increase domestic consumption, which will help offset the huge losses to the sector due to the 50 per cent tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump administration.
While India has one of the largest aquaculture sectors globally, with an export base of ₹40,000 crore, the domestic shrimp market remains underdeveloped. Consumers are accustomed to fish, yet shrimp, despite being widely farmed, is still seen as an occasional or premium choice.
“We produce over 10 lakh tonnes of shrimp annually, but domestic consumption is barely 100 gm per capita. Compare this with the per capita consumption of 2-3 kg in the US, Thailand, and Japan. Shrimp constitutes below 2 per cent of the per capita fish intake of 5-6 kg in the country,” Indukuri Mohan Raju, President of Prawn Farmers Federation, told businessline.
Untapped demand
“Weak supply chains, poor quality consistency, and lack of consumer awareness have left a huge latent demand untapped,” he said.
The association has recently submitted a blueprint to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying, to establish Shrimp Handling and Marketing Units (SHMUs). “This can be a scalable and long-term solution to build a robust domestic market. Each of the units would cost about ₹50 crore. We can start with an initial investment of Rs 1,000 crore,” the association said in the memorandum.
This can be scaled to 200 units over the next five years, facilitating the establishment of a dependable framework.
This, it said, would help bridge the gap between farmers and consumers and absorb up to 50 per cent of national shrimp production. “This will be a farmer-led, government-backed initiative to reduce the country’s over dependence on exports, stabilise farmer incomes, and domestic shrimp marketing a success story,” it said.
Published on October 3, 2025
