Indian shrimp exports to the U.S. totaled more than $2.5 billion in the 2023-24 fiscal year, according to the Indian Ministry of Commerce. For the past decade, Sita had near-daily shifts in a shrimp processing plant around the corner, in the far-flung suburb of Marikavalasa. She told NPR that she paused her sons' education for now, because she couldn't afford to pay their private school fees. "If they don't give us work," she said, referring to the nearby shrimp processing plant, "how are we meant to survive?" Shrimp industry leaders told NPR that the ministry was engaging with them and promising to find them new markets.