Shrimp farmers shy away from replenishing stocks on pricing blues

Jolted by low prices of shrimp which had plunged below the production cost last year due to a glut in global production and uncertainty in world trade, the shrimp farmers are shying away from replenishing stocks.

Stocking of shrimps in states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha is down by about 40 per cent compared to the February-March period last year.

"The farmers had sustained a loss in shrimp farming by selling the output at Rs 100 less per kilogram last year. Many ponds  are lying unutilized in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh in this cropping season as they have gone for