India

Andhra CM seeks relief for shrimp farmers affected by US tariff

Nearly 2.5 lakh families of aqua farmers and 30 lakh people in allied sectors are in difficulty following the tariff war.

Statesman News Service | Hyderabad | September 15, 2025 8:15 pm

Andhra CM seeks relief for shrimp farmers affected by US tariff

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday said shrimp farmers in the state have suffered losses estimated at Rs 25,000 crore, with 50 percent of the orders cancelled following the imposition of heavy tariffs by the Trump government in the US.

Nearly 2.5 lakh families of aqua farmers and 30 lakh people in allied sectors are in difficulty following the tariff war. The chief minister has approached the Centre for some relief to the aqua farmers.

He also assured that the state government will protect aquaculture farmers hit by the tariff war between the US and India.

The chief minister has already written letters to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and Fisheries minister Rajeev Ranjan Singh to provide relief to aqua farmers, such as a GST waiver, moratorium on aqua loan interest and expansion of the domestic market.

Naidu also announced incentives for farmers to minimize the use of urea in farming. Announcing a sum of Rs 800 against every bag of urea as an incentive, Naidu asked officials to distribute the money under the PM Pranam scheme directly among the farmers to encourage a reduction in their use of urea. He directed officers to plan in advance for the procurement of urea.

Addressing the collector’s conference at the Secretariat, the chief minister said recently China rejected a chili consignment citing the use of chemical fertilizer. He also said that excess use of urea and chemical pesticides will lead to cancer, pointing out that AP stands in fifth place in the country when it comes to the number of cancer cases.

Naidu directed officials to spread awareness among farmers about the harmful aspects of urea. After minister for civil supplies Nadendla Manohar highlighted the growing number of cancer cases in Bhalabadrapuram in East Godavari district because of excess use of urea and other fertilizers, Naidu asked officials to investigate the causes behind the rising number of cancer patients.