Silver lining for agri as duties lower than rivals

Agri Scan India's agriculture and marine export ($bn)

- SANJEEB MUKHERJEE

Even though high reciprocal tariffs levied by the Donald Trump administration are likely to put a dent on exports of some Indian agricultural products, such as shrimps, going forward, several experts say the fact that the tariffs are still lower as compared to many of India's competitors might signal that all is not lost.

India exported around $1.9 billion worth of seafood to the US in FY24. Bulk of India's seafood exports to the US is in the form of "Vannamei Shrimp", and some estimates said that in FY24, almost 41 per cent of India's shrimp exports went to America, which was by far one of its largest markets.

Till now, the maximum tariff imposed by the US on shrimp exported from India was around 8 per cent, which, following the new tariff of 27 per cent, could go up to 45 per cent after adding countervailing duty (CVD), etc., trade sources said.