Post US tariff, seafood exporters look to China, Japan but price gets a hit

INDIA may get an alternative seafood market to countervail the impact of unilateral tariffs imposed by the US, but it will not receive a fair price for its exports.

- JITENDRA CHOUBEY @New Delhi

Analysis indicates that US consumers pay significantly more for Indian seafood, more than double the average price that China and Japan pay per kilogram. Traders are urging economic ministries to finalise a deal with the US before it’s too late.

The US, previously India’s largest seafood market, valued at $7.38 billion (35% of exports), implemented a crushing 59.73% tariff on the Indian seafood sector, which eventually destroyed the seafood industry. As a succour to seafood producers and traders, PM Narendra Modi visited China and Japan after the unilateral tariff imposed by the US to get a market for its premier seafood.