Rising Costs Are Changing the Economics of Shrimp Farming
Shrimp farming is no longer only a coastal activity in India. Telangana has also developed experience with inland vannamei farming, particularly in areas where low-salinity water can support shrimp culture. ICAR-CIBA has previously worked with Telangana fisheries officials on the feasibility of vannamei farming in low-salinity waters. CIBA
But for farmers in Erravalli of Jogulamba Gadwal district, the issue now is less about whether shrimp can be farmed inland and more about whether the economics of farming can remain viable.
Farmers featured in the video say that their production costs have increased sharply over the past decade, while the shrimp selling price has not increased at the same pace.
Feed, Diesel and Power Are Increasing the Pressure
According to the farmers, shrimp feed that once cost around ₹40 per kg is now above ₹105 per kg. Diesel, another important operating expense, is reported by them at around ₹107 per litre.
For farms that depend on diesel generators to operate aerators, the electricity problem becomes an additional burden. Farmers say generator operation can cost around ₹1,000 per hour, while power availability at their farms is limited to around four hours a day.
Aeration is not an optional expense in intensive shrimp farming. As shrimp biomass increases, maintaining adequate oxygen becomes increasingly important. When reliable grid power is unavailable, farmers have to depend more heavily on alternative power sources, adding directly to production costs.
The Seed Problem Can Extend the Crop
Farmers also point to the availability of quality shrimp seed as another challenge.
According to the farmers featured in the report, poor-quality or unsuitable seed is contributing to slower crop performance, with crops that they say should finish much earlier sometimes extending to around 100 days.
A longer culture period means the farmer continues paying for feed, electricity or diesel, labour and other operating expenses for additional weeks.
For shrimp farming, therefore, a delayed harvest is not simply a timing problem. It can change the entire cost structure of the crop.
Investment Has Increased, But What About the Selling Price?
The farmers say they are now spending more than ₹4 lakh per acre on a crop.
At the same time, they claim that shrimp prices remain around ₹240 per kg, roughly where they were about a decade ago.
This creates the central problem facing these farmers: if production costs rise while the farm-gate price does not rise proportionately, the margin between cost and revenue becomes increasingly narrow.
Shrimp farming can generate strong returns when survival, growth, feed efficiency and market prices work in the farmer's favour. But when several costs rise simultaneously, even a technically successful crop can become financially difficult.
Telangana's Shrimp Story Is Different From Coastal Aquaculture
Telangana's shrimp sector operates under different conditions from the major coastal production belts of Andhra Pradesh.
The state does not have a coastline, so inland farmers depend on suitable low-salinity water sources and farm-level management. Research has already identified L. vannamei as a candidate for inland culture in Telangana, and the state has recorded shrimp production alongside its much larger freshwater aquaculture and scampi sectors. CIBA
That makes power, water quality, seed quality and production efficiency particularly important for inland shrimp farmers.
The Electricity Question
The farmers' demand is straightforward: they want electricity support similar to what aqua farmers in Andhra Pradesh receive, arguing that affordable and reliable power could substantially reduce their dependence on diesel generators.
Whether Telangana should introduce a dedicated electricity subsidy for shrimp farmers is ultimately a policy decision. But the issue highlights a larger question: how should inland aquaculture be supported when farmers are competing in a market where the selling price is determined by broader domestic and export conditions?
Jogulamba Gadwal's Fisheries Department already lists support for fish and prawn pond construction and first-year inputs among its development schemes. Gadwal District However, the specific electricity-subsidy demand raised by the Erravalli shrimp farmers would need to be addressed through a separate power-policy decision.
Can Telangana's Shrimp Farms Remain Profitable?
The challenge facing these farmers is not one single expense.
It is the combination of feed prices, diesel costs, electricity availability, seed quality, culture duration and shrimp market prices.
Reducing one cost could help, but long-term sustainability will require improvements across the production system. Better seed quality, reliable power, efficient aeration, accurate feeding and stronger farm-level cost management can all influence the final economics of a crop.
For inland shrimp farming in Telangana, the question is no longer simply whether vannamei can be cultured successfully.
The bigger question is whether farmers can produce it profitably.
