Foreign firms reject AP wares

TIRUPATI: Aqua farmers in Nellore district are worried about mounting losses as buyers have formed a syndicate to decrease the price of shrimp. Buyers from Ongole, Nellore, Bhimavaram, Chennai and Kochi would purchase shrimp from aqua farmers in the district. Now, buyers have been purchasing 30 count for Rs 450, 40 count for Rs 420, 50 count for Rs 370 and 60 count for Rs 330.

Buyers says that there is no demand for the country shrimp in other countries. Farmers have been demanding MPEDA to intervene in this issue. According to sources, aqua culture has been done in around 15,000 acres in the district and around 7,500 farmers were cultivating in fresh and brackish waters. About 95 percent farmers had been cultivating across the district.

L. Vannamei had been cultivated in around 8,600 hectares in the authorized ponds. L. Vannamei was mainly harvested in many divisions in the District. Meanwhile some of the farmers from other parts of the state such as Tirupati, Chittoor and also from TamilNadu and Karnataka have been cultivated L. Vannamei after taking the lands for lease.

Normally, aqua farmers have to rely on buyers who approaches them and purchases the shrimp every year. Due to the lack of awareness on marketing facility in other states farmers have to rely only on buyers. Foreign traders especially from European countries have rejected aqua products which are exported from the country. Buyers says that there is no demand for the state aqua products due to use of antibiotics and other pests for cultivation in other countries. “We are forced to sell our aqua products to the buyers who have formed a syndicate and fixed prices of the shrimp in the region. Buyers says that price of the shrimp has drastically fallen in the international market. We have been selling our aqua products to the prices which are fixed by the buyers,” said K. Ashok Kumar, an aqua farmer.