KOCHI: The dawning of New Year will mark the end of festival season in the US and the Indian seafood export industry is waiting with bated breath for a positive development in trade talks. The export of Indian seafood to the US market will come to a grinding halt by January 15 as the pre-existing orders expire by that date. There have been zero trade queries after the US government imposed a 50% reciprocal tariff on Indian products.
Meanwhile, there are reports that countries like Ecuador and Vietnam are benefiting from the tariff war. “There has been a decline in exports to the US after the Trump regime imposed a 50% reciprocative tariff on Indian products. Exports have been limited to consignments that are being shipped as per orders received before the tariff was hiked. Though the government initiative to explore new markets has helped avoid a crisis, we are concerned about the long-term impact of the loss of the US market,” said Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) vice-president Alex K Ninan.
According to seafood exporters, the drop in value of exports to the US is only 5% during the April-October period compared to the previous year. However, while comparing the exports in the August-October phase, there has been a decline of 33% compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. While converting to quantity, the drop is 15% in April to October period and 40% in August to October phase. “The problem is that we have not received any order from the US after August 27, when the punitive tariff was imposed.
The opening of the European Union market has been a blessing, but we are concerned about its long-term sustainability. No other market can offer the price and quality benefits in the US market,” said SEAI Kerala regional president M R Premachandra Bhat. “There are three segments in the US seafood market — restaurant chain, supermarkets and street sales. Though restaurants and supermarkets are accepting consignments according to pre-existing commitment, the street sales of Indian seafood have completely stopped.
With the government initiative to explore new markets, we have been able to get a 15% export buoyancy this year. The exports to the European Union have grown by 40% while the trade with China has grown by 20%. There has been a steep rise in business with Vietnam, and Russia. But our concern is about the long-term sustainability of the new markets,” said SEAI CEO K N Raghavan.
The value of India’s seafood export sector stands at 7.38 billion dollars of which the share of the US market is 3.7 billion USD. The US tariff on seafood products from Ecuador is only 10% while it is 20% for Vietnam. The recent spike in demand for Indian shrimp, squid and octopus in the Vietnam market has created doubts that seafood processing units are sourcing raw seafood from India and exporting value-added products to the US market.