Hyderabad: For years, Andhra Pradesh has been India’s largest aqua food exporter to the United States. However, the Trump administration’s tariff demands, including a nearly 60 percent tariff on shrimps, have hit the industry. The state is now exploring avenues to reduce the impact on lakhs of aqua farmers, reeling under losses after over 50 percent of shrimp exports to the US were reportedly cancelled.

To protect aqua farmers from export shocks, the state government is betting big on improving domestic consumption. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is encouraging the inclusion of aqua food such as fish and shrimps into people’s diets. At the same time, his administration is instituting the A.P. Prawn Producers Company, an initiative to aid shrimp producers by creating producers’ organisa

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