Avanti Feeds slumped 18.3% to Rs 727, while Apex Frozen Foods dropped as much as 7.7% to Rs 199.25 on the BSE. Coastal Corp, another seafood exporter, also snapped a three-day winning streak, tumbling 9% to Rs 36.05. The losses come as investors react to concerns over the impact of fresh U.S. tariffs on India’s seafood export sector.
Trump, in an announcement late Wednesday, held up a chart detailing the new tariff structure, stating that India imposed 52% tariffs on U.S. imports, including “currency manipulation and trade barriers.” In response, the U.S. will now impose a “discounted reciprocal tariff” of 26% on Indian exports, including seafood products.
The sell-off reflects investor concerns over the heavy export dependence of these firms on the U.S. market. As of the December quarter, 69% of Avanti Feeds’ total revenue came from North America, while Apex Frozen Foods derived 64% of its export revenue from the region in FY24, according to their investor presentations.
“Being an export-oriented sector, any slowdown in consumption in key markets like the U.S., EU, and Southeast Asia will have an adverse impact on India’s shrimp exports,” Apex Frozen Foods had noted in its Q3FY25 investor report.
The U.S. is India’s biggest shrimp export market, accounting for $2.4 billion out of $5.6 billion in total shrimp exports. India supplies 40% of the U.S. shrimp market, with a significant share of its shipments processed in Latin America before reaching American consumers.The broader seafood industry could take a hit as well. According to Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), India’s fish, meat, and processed seafood sector—worth $2.58 billion in exports—faces a 27.83% tariff differential under Trump’s new policy, making Indian shrimp significantly less competitive, according to PTI.India shipped 1.73 million tonnes of seafood worth Rs 63,969 crore ($8.09 billion) in 2022-23, with frozen shrimp as the top export item. The U.S. and China were the largest buyers of Indian seafood.
With shrimp farms—primarily located in Andhra Pradesh—reliant on U.S. demand, the latest tariffs could pressure margins and hurt earnings for Indian seafood exporters in the coming quarters.
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