The demand for Indian shrimp in the United States and North America has surged nearly 10% since the Covid-19 pandemic, Coastal Corporation Ltd. Founder and Managing Director Valsaraj Thottoli told NDTV Profit on Thursday, Jan. 9.
Thottoli noted that while everything had come to a standstill during the pandemic, the demand is now slowly picking up. “(The demand uptick) could be about 8% to 10% in the US market,” he said.
The demand for Indian shrimp has risen despite a host of challenges, the top executive mentioned.
“There are other challenges in the US market, like anti-dumping duties. Then we have the challenges on the side of freight (availability). So, the delivery time has increased. But still, the demand is picking up,” he said.
The demand uptick is also being aided by the fact that competition has come off from Ecuador, which is the largest shrimp exporter in the world, Thottoli said.
In this scenario, the company is eyeing a topline of over Rs 500 crore in fiscal 2025, the MD mentioned. The Ebitda margins in the ongoing financial year will be in the range of 6%, he added.
Coastal Corporation expects a 15% growth in its topline in the next fiscal, driven by improved capacity utilisation and stronger demand for shrimp.
“We already have the capacity. But since there was a slowdown immediately after Covid and during Covid, it was not being utilised,” Thottoli said.
“Now, we will be scaling up (capacity utilisation) and maybe we shall be doing another 10% to 15% more in the coming year in terms of the topline,” he added.
Shares of Coastal Corporation on Thursday settled 1.87% lower at Rs 243.85 apiece on the BSE, compared to a 0.68% decline in the benchmark Sensex.
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