The US Department of Commerce has announced a reduction in the anti-dumping duty on shrimp imports from India to 1.6 per cent. The preliminary results of the Fifth Administrative Review on anti-dumping duties on Indian shrimp imports had undertaken a detailed examination of the performance of two mandatory respondents from India, Falcon Marine Exports and Apex Exports, before announcing an average 1.6 per cent duty for all other shrimp exporters.

The preliminary findings of the Fifth Administrative Review have, meanwhile, imposed a 1.36 and 2.31 per cent duty respectively for the two mandatory respondents. “The slashing of anti-dumping duty from 2.67 per cent to 1.69 per cent is a welcome step and would galvanise Indian seafood exports substantially,” sources in the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) said.

The lower levels of anti-dumping duties have revived the pace of Indian shrimp exports to the US in the recent past. Indian seafood exports to the US that had lagged behind its peers in the last couple of years have gathered momentum and the US is now second biggest export destination after the European Union.

Exports revive

Buoyed by the surging demand and reduced import duties, Indian shrimp exports had staged a strong come back to the US markets, growing by 88 per cent in volume and 149 per cent value during April-December. This also enabled shrimp to hold its position of dominance in the country's marine export basket as it accounted for over 48 per cent of the total export earnings.

The US became the second biggest export destination with seafood exports to the region growing by close to 50 per cent in volume and 110 per cent in value. While the EU continued to remain the single most important export destination, exports to the region witnessed a deceleration of close to five per cent in quantity during the first nine months of the current fiscal.

Bonds with US Customs

While the present levels of anti-dumping duties are not a serious concern to the Indian shrimp exporters, what continues to be a cause of worry is the cyclical requirement to execute bonds with the US Customs before the exports can be effected, SEAI sources added. The cumbersome process of executing the bond and the inordinate delay in its liquidation are the major hurdles faced by the exporters.

Since it takes three years for the bonds to be liquidated, Indian exporters will have an outstanding of three bonds with the US customs at every given point of time. The cumulative amount tied up in bonds would be well over $100 million at every juncture, the sources pointed out. While the bonds may not be of very serious consequence to the bigger exporters, they are permanent cause of worry and concern to the smaller players.

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