AP CM Naidu suggests adding shrimp to Indian Army’s menu amid US tariff crisis

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu holds a carton of prawns. File | Photo credit: Special arrangement

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has suggested that the central government consider including prawns in the food of the Indian Army, he wrote to Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal to protect the aqua sector. He sought swift action to deal with the crisis faced by aquaculture farmers and shrimp exporters in Andhra Pradesh due to steep tariffs imposed by the US on shrimp exports.

The Chief Minister said that the 50% duty imposed by the US on shrimp imports has resulted in a total tax burden on Indian exports of nearly 60%, which has hit Andhra Pradesh’s water sector hard. He warned that the state’s annual aquamarine exports, worth nearly ₹25,000 crore, could face heavy losses.

Mr. Naidu said about 2.5 million families of aquafarmers and more than 30 million workers dependent on the sector are at risk of losing their livelihood. Prices of domestic aquatic products have fallen by 20% to 25%, he added.

The Chief Minister said the state government has reduced the cost of shrimp feed by ₹ 9 per kg and is supplying electricity to aquaculture farmers at ₹ 1.50 per unit.

He urged the Center to increase working capital limits by 30%, grant a 240-day moratorium on interest payments and temporarily exempt the sector from 5% interest and GST. Mr Naidu also sought talks with the US to reduce tariffs and expand into alternative markets such as Russia, the European Union and Australia.

He also asked the Center to increase the Kisan credit card limit to ₹ 1 lakh for aquaculture farmers and run special rail services to transport prawns to northern states. In a separate letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Mr Naidu sought a corpus of ₹100 crore for the Prawn Producers Coordinating Committee and another regional fisheries institute in Andhra Pradesh through the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB).

Published – 18 May 2026 12:25 PM IST