It should be noted that the US in 2019 imposed restrictions on shrimp imports from India. To resume shrimp exports to the US, all trawl nets used in India must be certified with Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Due to these import restrictions, the state has been badly affected. Shrimp caught from the sea is being sold at very low prices in the domestic market, leading to a sharp reduction in the income of fishermen and the employment of peeling workers.
According to a reply given by Kerala Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian in the State Assembly, a team of officials and representatives from various organisations concerned will travel to New Delhi to pressure the central government to resolve the current crisis in shrimp exports.
“If the concerns of boat owners and fishermen are addressed and TED installation is carried out on boats, shrimp exports to the US, one of the best global markets, could resume. This would help reduce bycatch during fishing, improve fuel efficiency, and make fishing more profitable,” read Cherian’s reply to an unstarred question asked by MLAs P.P. Chitharanjan, K.N. Unnikrishnan, Sujith Vijayanpillai, and N.K. Akbar.
The minister’s reply also detailed measures taken from the state’s end. The state government amended the KMFRA rule in 2019 to mandate TEDs in bottom trawl nets. Demonstrations for installing TEDs in trawl nets, developed by the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, are being carried out in fishing harbours at Sakthikulangara, Neendakara, Azhikkal, Munambam, Thoppumpady, Munakkadavu, Ponnani, Beypore, Puthiyappa, and Madakkara under the leadership of the Marine Products Exports Development Authority (MPEDA) – Network for Fish Quality Management and Sustainable Fishing (NETFISH). Efforts are being made with the cooperation of fishermen’s organisations.
As part of this, a CIFT stakeholder meeting was organised in July, followed by a ministerial meeting in the same month involving officials from MPEDA-NETFISH, the Central Institute of Fisheries Nautical and Engineering Training (CIFNET), fishermen’s organisations, and representatives from the seafood association. During this meeting, concerns from boat owners and fishermen regarding the installation of TEDs in trawl nets were discussed. The Kerala State Cooperative Federation for Fisheries Development (Matsyafed) has been directed to explore more domestic markets for shrimp to ensure better prices and mitigate the impact of the US ban and the fall in market prices.
Kerala had been exporting shrimp worth Rs 800 crore annually. The state has made a noteworthy contribution to shrimp exports from India to the US. Data on Kerala’s exports before the ban in August 2019 reveals this. In 2017-18, the state exported 46,815 tonnes of shrimp, valued at Rs 2,021.68 crore (USD 317.61 million). In 2018-19, the export quantity dropped to 36,798 tonnes, with a value of Rs 1,753.36 crore (USD 254.84 million).
Due to the ban on shrimp imports from India, seafood exporters from Kerala lost their share of the US market. This ban has also affected the unit price of shrimp offered by other markets. According to records from the MPEDA, there has been a 42% drop in the average export price. The price has fallen from USD 9.87 per kg to USD 5.68 per kg.