US slaps 14% levy on Indian shrimp

The United States department of commerce (DoC) has slapped an anti dumping duty of 14.2 per cent on Indian shrimp export to the US, one of the largest export markets for Indian marine food products.

The rate will come into effect from first week of August this year on Indian shrimp export to the US, valued at $403 in 2003.

T Reghunatha Reddy, secretary general of Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI), said the duty was provisional in nature and the final duties would be notified by DoC in the first week of February 2005.

The rates of preliminary duty will vary from 3.56 per cent to 27.49 per cent for three mandatory respondents that the DoC selected and investigated as representative of Indian shrimp exporters to the US.

The weighted average of anti-dumping duty for India had gone up to 14.2 per cent as Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) was slapped with 27.49 per cent duty.

Reddy expressed surprise that HLL was punished such a high duty.

"The DoC team will come for further inspection during next two months and we are hopeful about our case. In our opinion, the duty against HLL should come down to about 18 per cent and to 10-11 per cent on Indian shrimp export as a whole," Reddy told Business Standard.

Several exporters said the 10-11 per cent duty was high. One company had pushed up India's weighted average as two other companies had attracted 3.56 and about 8 per cent duty.

Asked if the duty would affect India's export to the US, Reddy said the association was confident that last year's performance could be repeated. "We have received third lowest duty rates for India among six countries," he said.

Five countries were slapped with anti dumping duty simultaneously. China got 49.09 per cent, Brazil 36.91 per cent, Vietnam 16.01 per cent, Equador 7.3 per cent and Thailand 6.39 per cent.

US was the second largest buyer of Indian shrimp following Japan. India's total marine product export was to the tune of $ 1.4 billion of which 60 per cent contributed by shrimp.

Thailand was the biggest exporter of shrimp to the US, followed by Vietnam. US shrimp imports nearly doubled during 1996 to 2002, and grew by another 14 per cent in the first half of 2003, while US shrimp production remained flat.