Naidu Seeks Centre's Support for Aqua, Tobacco Farmers

VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has sought the Centre's intervention to provide relief to aquaculture and FCV tobacco farmers in Andhra Pradesh, writing separately to three Union ministers seeking policy and financial support for the two sectors.

In a letter to fisheries minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Naidu sought permission for shrimp feed manufacturers to import genetically modified soybean meal to address the sharp increase in feed production costs.

He said soybean meal, a key raw material used in shrimp feed, had become costlier due to domestic shortages, placing severe financial stress on shrimp farmers. He recalled that the Centre had allowed limited imports of soybean meal in 2021 and sought similar permission to stabilise prices.

The Chief Minister also pointed to increased competition from Ecuador in the global shrimp market, saying it had made exports to destinations such as the US, China and Europe more challenging for Indian exporters.

Naidu requested the minister to establish a regional office of the national fisheries development board in Amaravati, recalling the minister's earlier assurance in this regard during a programme in Visakhapatnam.

In a letter to commerce minister Piyush Goyal, the CM sought measures to protect the state's aquaculture sector by regulating the domestic availability of fish meal, another key ingredient in shrimp feed. He said fish meal exports receive a five per cent export incentive, resulting in higher domestic prices for feed manufacturers.

He urged the directorate general of foreign trade to ensure domestic requirements were met before permitting exports. He also reiterated the request to allow imports of genetically modified soybean meal.

On FCV tobacco, Naidu sought export incentives, stating that competing countries such as Zimbabwe and Tanzania provided subsidies and duty concessions to their exporters, while Indian exporters did not receive similar support.

The CM pointed out that although agricultural commodities such as tea, coffee and spices were brought under the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products scheme in 2021, unmanufactured tobacco (HS Code 2401) had been excluded. He urged the Centre to extend the scheme's benefits to tobacco exports.

In a letter to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Naidu sought reduction of GST on aerators used in aquaculture from 18 per cent to 5 per cent.

Referring to the India-US trade agreement, he said that although import duties on aquaculture products had been reduced to 10 per cent, uncertainty over tariffs continued and sought the Centre's intervention.

The CM also sought a one-time enhancement of `5 lakh under the Kisan Credit Card scheme for aquaculture farmers and the creation of a `100-crore corpus fund through the NFDB to support domestic marketing.

He urged the Centre to reduce GST on unmanufactured tobacco from 40 per cent to 28 per cent, stating that the move would provide significant relief to tobacco farmers, traders and exporters in Andhra Pradesh.