VIJAYAWADA: Aqua farmers in the State are facing their toughest crisis in a decade, battered by the El Niño effect, shortage of quality shrimp seed, soaring feed costs, shrinking profit margins and export disruptions caused by global conflicts and market uncertainties.
With production costs rising sharply while farmgate prices remain subdued, aquaculture has become increasingly unviable, forcing many farmers to consider a crop holiday in the coming season.
While aqua farmers continue to receive almost the same prices for their produce as they did around a decade ago, production costs have increased by three to 10 times during the period. The widening gap between input costs and realisations has virtually wiped out profit margins, leaving farmers under severe financial stress.
The crisis is particularly significant for AP, which has 1.90 lakh hectares (4.70 lakh acres) under aquaculture. The sector supports a vast network of farmers, farm workers, hatcheries, feed manufacturers, processing units, cold-chain operators, transporters and exporters, making it a key contributor to the State’s rural economy and seafood export chain.
The sharp increase in feed prices has emerged as one of the biggest challenges. Fishmeal and fish oil, important ingredients in shrimp feed, are in short supply.
Around 150 kg of fishmeal and fish oil is required for every tonne of shrimp feed. The material is traditionally sourced from countries such as Peru, while the availability of fish used for producing fishmeal and fish oil has been affected by the El Niño phenomenon.
Fishmeal that was priced at around Rs 105 per kg is now selling at Rs 250-300 per kg. Though fishmeal is available in India, including at Mangalore, a significant quantity is also being exported to China, further tightening domestic availability.
The rise in input costs has pushed shrimp-feed prices from around Rs 80,000 a tonne nearly a year ago to about Rs 95,000 now.
The availability and quality of shrimp seed is another major concern. Broodstock used for producing seed is imported from the US, while specialised worms used as feed for broodstock are sourced from the Netherlands.
These worms help maintain immunity and survival capacity. Their shortage has resulted in the use of locally available alternatives, affecting seed quality and survival rates.
Krishna Sri Kotikalapudi, an aqua farmer of Akiveedu, said, “Aquaculture is in deep crisis, with poor-quality seed severely affecting crop survival. The survival of the crop is lasting only around 20 days in some cases, which is a huge setback. High feed prices and disease outbreaks are adding to our losses.”
A financial assessment based on stocking one lakh seed per acre puts the total cultivation cost at Rs 2.86 lakh for 100-count shrimp after 60 days. The cost rises to Rs 3.41 lakh for 80-count after 70 days, Rs 3.83 lakh for 70-count after 75 days and Rs 4.45 lakh for 60-count after 80 days.
The expenditure increases further to Rs 5.37 lakh for 50-count after 90 days, Rs 6.81 lakh for 40-count after 105 days, and Rs 8.77 lakh for 30-count after 135 days.
“Feed expenditure rises from about Rs 97,000 in shorter cycles to Rs 4.12 lakh in longer cycles. Medicine and chemical costs also increase substantially as the culture period extends,” said another farmer from Krishna district.
