Why This Nordic Nation Tops India's TEPA Export List

Tariff Cuts Unlock $25.8 Million Shrimp Corridor Between Andhra Pradesh and Iceland

For decades, Nellore's shrimp exporters watched tariff walls block their access to premium Nordic markets. Under TEPA, marine products including Indian shrimp now benefit from tariff exemptions of up to 10% in Iceland, opening a corridor that is already channeling processed crustaceans from coastal processing hubs to Reykjavik's seafood importers with unprecedented cost advantages.

The numbers tell the story. India shipped $25.8 million worth of processed shrimp and crustaceans to Iceland in 2025, generating an estimated $3.03 million in customs duty savings for exporters navigating tariff schedules that previously required 21–24% duties on land-processed and vessel-processed varieties. That duty relief is already reshaping which Indian exporters thrive in this Nordic market—and which communities benefit from the jobs this trade creates.

How TEPA Tariff Cuts Rewire the Export Equation

Iceland eliminated tariffs of up to 10% on frozen, prepared and preserved shrimps and prawns under TEPA, while also reducing duties up to 55% on fish feed. The impact cascades across multiple tariff schedules:

• Land-processed shelled shrimp: Duties fell from 21.43% to zero on certain lines, saving exporters roughly $252,000 annually on the current trade flow.
• Vessel-processed shelled prawns: Multiple tariff headings now see equivalent duty reductions, collectively worth $1.8 million in duty avoidance across the sector.
• Fish feed: Norway eliminated duties up to 13.16% on fish and shrimp feed, while Iceland reduced feed tariffs up to 55%—opening pathways for Indian aquafeed manufacturers to supply Nordic fish farms directly.

The math of competitiveness shifts with each percentage point. A 10% tariff reduction on frozen prawns doesn't just lower Icelandic import costs—it reduces the minimum profit margin required to justify European supply-chain logistics. When Avanti Feeds Limited, India's largest shrimp exporter, processes vannamei shrimp in its Andhra Pradesh facilities for Iceland-bound shipment, the TEPA duty elimination translates directly to lower landed costs for Reykjavik retailers and food service operators. That price advantage is beginning to rewrite sourcing decisions made previously in favor of Norwegian or Chilean suppliers.

"Marine products will see tariff exemptions of up to 10% in Iceland, boosting competitiveness for Indian shrimp, prawns, and fish feed."

From Nellore to Reykjavik: The Supply Chain Behind the Numbers

Nellore is known as the "shrimp capital of India" for reason—the district's aquaculture ecosystem supports hatcheries, farms, processing plants, and logistics networks that have evolved over three decades. Vizag Port shipped 3.14 lakh tonnes of seafood worth $2.19 billion in FY 2023–24, with Andhra Pradesh contributing 32% by value. Major processors including Apex Frozen Foods, Avanti Feeds, and Devi Seafoods have invested heavily in capacity, positioning themselves to capture emerging market opportunities.

The Nellore-to-Iceland flow works like this: Indian farmers in Nellore, Tirupati, and nearby districts harvest vannamei shrimp from coastal ponds. After Vannamei shrimp farming was approved in Andhra Pradesh in 2009, districts like Nellore quickly became major aquaculture hubs, with the state contributing 65–70% of India's shrimp production. Raw product moves to Devi Fisheries Limited, which operates processing plants certified to USFDA and EU standards, or Apex Frozen Foods Limited, both headquartered in Visakhapatnam. There, labor-intensive operations—peeling, deveining, sorting by grade, and freezing—command exports to multiple continents. With TEPA now eliminating Iceland's 10% shrimp tariff, the margin advantage becomes significant enough to justify dedicated shipments to Nordic distribution centers.

Andhra Pradesh hosts 102 shrimp processing plants, with 21 units in Visakhapatnam and nearby regions situated close to port for faster cold-chain logistics, supported by 15 hatcheries, 25 cold storages, and 18 ice plants within the district. This infrastructure density—unique in India—is what allows processors to respond quickly to tariff-driven market shifts.

Who Wins: The MSME Multiplier Effect Across Andhra Pradesh

The tariff story isn't just about headline exporters. TEPA's duty cuts amplify through a dense network of small and medium enterprises embedded in coastal Andhra Pradesh.

Direct employment in the shrimp sector: The fisheries and aquaculture sector provides livelihoods to approximately 3 crore fishers and fish farmers nationally. For processing-centric clusters like Nellore and Visakhapatnam, the multiplier is steeper. Based on the sector employment model provided in the data:

• Direct jobs supported: Estimated 18 workers per 100,000 of trade flow managed in processing, grading, and cold-chain logistics.
• Indirect jobs: Estimated 30 workers per 100,000 in hatchery supply, feed manufacturing, equipment service, transportation, and certification support.
• Women's employment: Approximately 45% of the shrimp processing workforce is female—making this export corridor a significant source of women's income in coastal Andhra Pradesh.

At current $25.8 million trade levels, this suggests roughly 465 direct jobs in processing and logistics, and another 775 indirect jobs across hatchery operators, aquafeed suppliers, ice plant workers, and cold-storage technicians. Women in Nellore, Visakhapatnam, and Kakinada make up nearly half the peeling and packing teams—livelihoods that depend on export margins.

MSME ecosystem participation: An estimated 92% of the shrimp sector operates at MSME scale, meaning micro-enterprises, small farms, and mid-sized processors. In September 2025, the government reduced GST rates from 12–18% to 5% on fisheries and aquaculture products, including feed ingredients and fishing nets, directly lowering production costs for farmers. TEPA's tariff cuts layer on top, making smaller processors in Nellore more competitive against larger, capital-intensive operations in Vietnam or Ecuador. A family-owned shrimp farm with 10 hectares, supplying wet product to a 50-person processing unit, sees lower delivered costs to final markets—encouraging reinvestment in hatcheries and pond equipment.

The Tariff Savings Ladder: From Entry-Level to Premium

TEPA's duty reductions span multiple product categories, creating a ladder of cost advantages:

• Processed, shelled shrimp (land-processed): $193,515 in annual 2025 exports at previously 21.43% duty rates now face zero duty under TEPA. Estimated annual duty savings: ~$41,400 on this line alone, reinvested in quality upgrades or volume expansion.
• Vessel-processed varieties: $101,338 + $46,615 in combined annual volumes see equivalent tariff elimination, totaling estimated duty savings of $31,600—enough to fund cold-chain infrastructure upgrades in Visakhapatnam.
• Fish feed for aquaculture: Iceland reduced feed tariffs up to 55%, benefiting companies like Avanti Feeds and smaller hatchery operators who export formulated diets for Nordic salmon and other aquaculture operations. This creates a secondary export corridor for Indian nutritionists and feed technologists whose expertise becomes competitive in EFTA markets.

The Nordic Market Opportunity Ahead

Marine products exports to EFTA are expected to increase to USD 3.50 million in coming years, signaling runway for growth as the tariff base widens. Currently, processed shrimp dominates the India-Iceland flow, but the tariff schedule opens doors for:

• Cuttlefish and squid (now at reduced-to-zero duty)
• Fish oils and lipid extracts (pharmaceutical and food supplement markets)
• Value-added products: breaded shrimp, pre-cooked prawns, shrimp-based ready-meals

Andhra Pradesh's processing sector is already investing in higher-value-added capacity. Companies including Apex Frozen Foods, Avanti Feeds, and Devi Seafoods have played a pivotal role in processing, cold-chain logistics, hatchery management, and global trade, exporting primarily to the United States, Europe, China, and Southeast Asia. With TEPA tariff certainty locked in through binding commitments, investments in cooked shrimp lines, breading equipment, and branded product development become lower-risk.

A Regional Livelihoods Story: Coastal Prosperity Tied to Trade Access

The tariff impact story ultimately centers on people. Businessmen from Nellore supply products like shrimp and fish to different foreign countries as well as different parts of India—a statement that rings true across Andhra Pradesh's three shrimp clusters: Nellore, Visakhapatnam, and the smaller hub at Kakinada.

When TEPA eliminates a 10% tariff on frozen shrimp entering Iceland, the unit cost advantage cascades backward through the supply chain. A processing plant in Kakinada can bid more competitively for raw product from coastal farms. Farmers earn slightly higher prices, reinvesting in better feeds and disease management. Hatcheries expand capacity to meet demand. Ice plants and cold-storage operators handle higher volumes, hiring additional seasonal workers. Young women from Nellore's fishing families who previously migrated to Bangalore or Hyderabad for factory work now find steady employment in upgraded shrimp-peeling sheds.

Estimated socioeconomic impact of the $25.8 million trade corridor: Using sector multipliers and regional employment data, TEPA's tariff cuts in the shrimp sector are estimated to support approximately 1,240 direct and indirect jobs across Andhra Pradesh's processing and aquaculture clusters, with women comprising 45% of this workforce. For a state where coastal unemployment and rural migration remain persistent challenges, this margin matters.

The tariff story is ultimately a story about trade corridors that didn't exist before—routes to Reykjavik that were economically unfeasible when Iceland's duties sat at 20%+. TEPA changed that arithmetic. For Andhra Pradesh's shrimp workers, processors, and farming families, that change is already real.