Union Budget 2024: Stocks Of Seafood Firms Soar Following Govt Support For Shrimp Industry

Union Budget 2024: Zeal Aqua's stock skyrocketed by 9.27 per cent, Kings Infra Ventures surged 8.15 per cent, Coastal Corp climbed 7.55 per cent, Apex Frozen Foods jumped 7.51 per cent

Union Budget 2024: Shares of seafood producers and exporters soared on Tuesday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced government support for shrimp farming and marketing. In her Union Budget 2024-25 presentation, Sitharaman revealed that the government will provide financial assistance to the shrimp sector. Additionally, the basic customs duty on shrimp has been reduced to 5 per cent.

Following the announcement, Zeal Aqua's stock skyrocketed by 9.27 per cent, Kings Infra Ventures surged 8.15 per cent, Coastal Corp climbed 7.55 per cent, Apex Frozen Foods jumped 7.51 per cent, and Waterbase increased by 5.51 per cent on the BSE.

Sitharaman also introduced a National Cooperation Policy aimed at the overall development of the country. The government plans to promote digital public infrastructure for agriculture in partnership with states and will introduce the Jan Samarth-based Kisan Credit Card scheme in five states.

"Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has extended financial support to shrimp production and marketing for the overall development of the industry. Direct beneficiaries of this announcement include Waterbase, Avanti Feeds, and Apex Frozen Foods," said T Manish, Research Analyst at SAMCO Securities.

In an another development, during her Budget speech in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed reducing the customs duty on gold and silver to 6 percent. Additionally, she announced a reduction in the customs duty for platinum to 6.4 percent. This move by the government is expected to lower the prices of gold, silver, and platinum, providing relief to buyers and investors.

Jewelry traders have long advocated for a reduction in customs duties on precious metals. Previously, the effective rate of customs duty on these metals was 15 percent, which traders argued was excessively high and imposed a significant financial burden. The Modi government's decision to slash customs duties in this budget addresses these long-standing concerns.