The new tariff imposed by US President Donald Trump on Indian exports will affect the livelihood of at least 15 lakh people engaged in the fishing sector in Odisha, seafood exporters' association said on Thursday.
Claiming that the seafood exports to the US would halt as the Indian businessmen could not compete in the American market, as traders from Vietnam and other Asian countries are taxed at a lower rate there, said Tara Ranjan Patnaik, a member of the Seafood Exporters' Association of India.
Patnaik, who is also chairman of Odisha-based Falcon Marine Exports, a leading frozen shrimp exporter, told PTI: “We have already reduced production and collection of seafood, which were meant for exports to the US. The impact has already been felt in the coastal states like Odisha. It will affect the livelihood of at least 15 lakh people engaged in the fishing sector." The additional 25 per cent tariff imposed by Trump on India for the country's purchases of Russian oil came into effect on Wednesday, bringing the total amount of tariff imposed on New Delhi to 50 per cent.
"The exporters from Odisha could never compete with those from Ecuador. They have the lowest tariff rate of 10 per cent," he pointed out.
Replying to a question, Patnaik said that though the association has already moved the central and the state government, there seems to be no such decision taken so far to bail out traders from the situation.
Odisha exported seafood worth Rs 4,700 crore in 2024-25, and the US market alone accounts for one-third of this, he said.
Patnaik also said that his company used to send about 120 to 130 carriers of seafood for export every month.
“In August, it has come down to 25 carriers,” he said, expressing anguish over the decline in the seafood trade and the people engaged in fishing, particularly marine and commercial shrimp cultivation.
Asked about alternative markets across the world, Patnaik said, “The seafood processing is a costly affair. The Americans have better buying capacity than other shrimp-consuming countries." The tariff hike by Trump has severely hit Indian exports, and has never happened in the recent past, said another member of the Seafood Exporters' Association of India.
When contacted, a senior official in the Odisha government said, “The decision in this regard will be taken at the central level. The state has no role in this matter.”
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