Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has appealed to the Centre to safeguard the interests of aquaculture and tobacco farmers. He wrote letters to Central ministers addressing key concerns. Naidu urged the Centre to allow shrimp feed manufacturers to import genetically modified soybean meal to aid the aquaculture sector due to soaring soybean meal prices impacting feed production costs.
In another letter, he requested the establishment of a regional office of the National Fisheries Development Board in Amaravati to bolster support for the state’s aquaculture sector. Naidu also sought immediate measures from the Union Commerce Minister to protect Andhra Pradesh’s aquaculture sector amidst rising shrimp exports from Ecuador affecting global prices.
The Chief Minister further sought financial measures to strengthen the aquaculture sector, including a reduction in GST on aquaculture aerators and creation of a corpus fund for domestic marketing. He also appealed for a reduction in GST on unmanufactured tobacco to alleviate the burden on tobacco farmers, dealers, and exporters in Andhra Pradesh.
