Aqua farmers bear the brunt as traders ignore Andhra Pradesh government price

Ongole: The prawn farmers in the coastal area claim that they are receiving around Rs 30 less than the price fixed by the state government per a kg. Due to lack of orders, scarce cold storages for exporters, hike in feed cost besides shortage of workers in processing companies, the prawn farmers are struggling a lot, say industry experts.

There are about 20,000 farmers in the state, cultivating prawns in over one lakh acre in the coastal districts.

In this season, they normally would start harvesting by February-end from the north area so that the exporters would get a continuous supply of the stock from the farmers.

Now, due to the lockdown conditions, the farmers have not got the workers for harvesting in time and vehicles for transport, forcing them to keep feeding the live prawns thus escalating costs.

The government responded to the pleas from the aqua farmers and fixed price for the prawns, depending on their size. It awarded Rs 180 for 100 count (100 prawns for 1 kg weight), Rs 190 for 90 count, Rs 200 for 80 count, Rs 220 for 70 count, Rs 240 for 60 count, Rs 270 for 50 count and Rs 330 for 40 count and ordered the merchants to pay the fixed price. But the farmers allege that they are not receiving the price.

They say that the merchants are offering them a price, reducing Rs 30 to 40 per kg, that too deferring the payment for at least two months.

Annem Kondala Rayudu, secretary of Andhra Pradesh State Prawn Farmers Welfare Association, said that nearly 50 per cent of the aqua crop is still in culture in the state.

He said that the orders from the US, which account for nearly 30 per cent of the total production, have been cancelled in the meantime and the farmers are uncertain over the future now.

"Cold storage units of the exporters are already full while the farmers can't continue the culture as rising temperatures kill prawns. Most of the processing units are also not working in full capacity as the villages are not allowing the workers to move in and out.

The government orders on the price are not being implemented at the ground level as the farmers are being forced to handover the prawns and wait for a couple of months for the payment or sell at a reduced price for immediate cash," Kondala Rayudu said.

M Chandrasekhar Reddy, joint director of the fisheries, said that they had ordered all processing units and merchants to pay the farmers the price fixed by the government. He advised the farmers, who want to sell their prawns to approach his office for allotment to a processing unit, permission for the transport vehicles.

He said that some of the processing units and merchants are asking the farmers for time to pay the amount and they advised them to see full payment is done within a week. He asked the aqua farmers to contact his office for any assistance required in selling prawns.