Shrimp farmers eye 'Fresh' ways to boost local consumption

Pune: India is sharpening focus on boosting domestic demand for shrimp as it looks to cushion the industry from increased tariffs in the US, its biggest market for crustaceans. As part of the strategy, the government has set up a committee under the aegis of the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) to work on ways to develop a robust local market for shrimps.

Even the shrimp farmers have submitted a proposal suggesting measures to boost domestic demand for the crustaceans, including transportation of live shrimps without water and experience centres for consumers, as they look to cushion the blow from increased tariffs in the US, their biggest market.

Representatives of stakeholders, including farmers, feed manufacturers and Marine Product Export Development Authority (MPEDA)-which has the mandate of developing the export markets--are members of this committee.

"Our mandate is to enhance awareness about shrimp consumption. We may consider setting up stalls to increase awareness about health benefits of eating shrimp as our per person shrimp consumption is nearly half of a country like Japan," said the senior executive director of NFDB, S Kannappan, who heads the committee.

"A strong domestic market is the only way for shrimp farmers to get fair value for their produce. The Indian farmers will also be able to taste the best shrimp in the world," said Balasubramanian V, general secretary of Prawn Farmers Federation of India.