Shares of shrimp feed companies Avanti Feeds and Apex Frozen Foods declined by up to 18% on Thursday following an announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding the imposition of reciprocal tariffs on as many as 60 countries, which includes a 26% tariff on Indian imports.
Avanti Feeds experienced an 18.3% decrease, falling to Rs 727, while Apex Frozen Foods saw a drop of 7.7% to Rs 199.25 on the BSE. Coastal Corporation, another seafood exporter, fell 9% to Rs 36.05, breaking a three-day winning streak. The declines are attributed to investor concerns about the impact of new U.S. tariffs on India’s seafood export sector.
On Wednesday, President Trump presented a chart outlining the new tariff structure, asserting that India imposes a 52% tariff on U.S. imports, including “currency manipulation and trade barriers.” In response, the U.S. has introduced a “discounted reciprocal tariff” of 26% on Indian exports, including seafood products.
The market sell-off indicates investor apprehension about these companies’ dependency on the U.S. market for exports. According to investor presentations, 69% of Avanti Feeds’ revenue and 64% of Apex Frozen Foods’ export revenue came from North America in the respective fiscal periods analyzed.
Apex Frozen Foods had previously noted in its Q3FY25 investor report that any slowdown in consumption in key markets such as the U.S., EU, and Southeast Asia could negatively impact India’s shrimp exports. The U.S. represents India’s largest shrimp export market, accounting for $2.4 billion of the $5.6 billion total shrimp exports. India supplies 40% of the U.S. shrimp market, with many shipments processed in Latin America before reaching American consumers.
The larger seafood industry could face challenges as well. According to the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), the Indian fish, meat, and processed seafood sector, valued at $2.58 billion in exports, will experience a 27.83% tariff differential under Trump’s new policy, reducing the competitiveness of Indian shrimp.
In 2022-2023, India exported 1.73 million tonnes of seafood valued at Rs 63,969 crore ($8.09 billion), with frozen shrimp being the leading export. The U.S. and China were the top markets for Indian seafood. The new tariffs might put pressure on margins and impact earnings for Indian seafood exporters in the upcoming quarters, particularly as shrimp farms, mostly located in Andhra Pradesh, rely heavily on U.S. demand.