The state government of Andhra Pradesh, India, has asked for a meeting with the aquaculture sector over the issue of shrimp prices. On May 7 it issued a letter — shared by Durai Balasubramanian of the Tamil Nadu shrimp association on Linkedin — calling for state government officials and “aquafarmers” to meet on May 10. “The joint directors of fisheries, East Godavari, West Godavari and Krishna districts are requested to identify two to three aqua farmers who are having good knowledge on marketing sector from each district”, to participate in deliberations and suggest appropriate measures for “ensuring reasonable market price to the shrimp produced by the aqua farmers of AP”. At the start of May, Balasubramanian had noted shrimp processors in Andhra Pradesh had failed to implement a minimum price guarantee, after a pledge to do so was reportedly made. Andhra Pradesh farmers’ union met with exporters in April, and the latter had agreed to increase what they pay for 100-count by INR 30, “in order to protect farmers from losses”, Balasubramanian had said. Meanwhile an EU importer told Undercurrent News on May 8 that landings in India have started up again in almost all areas; the main sizes being harvested are 50- 100 count, with prices remaining fairly similar across all areas. This source expects prices to remain low at least until July, with the outlook for decent harvest volumes. Demand from the US, China and Vietnam is not thought to be very strong, meaning some packers are taking orders at low prices just to keep factories ticking over. There is some rumor of Chinese offers coming to the Indian market in May, though this importer suggested the bids may have been too low for packers, and deals do not seem to have been done. He too noted the current raw material price picture is very tight for farmers, with no profits being made — even with the price yet to hit the bottom, he suggested. The sector will be waiting to see if farmers decide whether to seed the next cycle, or wait it out, he concluded.