Andhra Pradesh Forms Panel as Shrimp Feed Hikes Trigger Farmer Alarm

A government-appointed expert committee will examine raw-material costs to decide whether feed makers should be asked to roll back recent price increases.

Overview

The state issued a government order creating a 15-member A.P. Shrimp Feed Ingredients Price Monitoring Committee to analyse fish‑meal and soybean prices and recommend transparent feed‑rate assessment mechanisms.
Farmers led by Duggineni Gopinath demanded on Tuesday that feed companies put the recent hikes on hold until the committee reports and urged the government to force a rollback.
Industry representatives told the fisheries minister earlier this month that they could not feasibly cut prices and no rollback has been implemented so far.
Farmer and party leaders report feed prices rose about ₹10 per kg for Vannamei and ₹12 per kg for Tiger shrimp, a cumulative rise they say has reached roughly ₹16 per kg between February and June and is pushing production below market returns.
If prices are not reduced by the end of June the YSRCP has threatened to join a state‑wide agitation in early July, a move that could raise political pressure and risk wider disruption to a sector that supports about 20 lakh people and earns foreign exchange.