India’s seafood exports are likely to reach an all-time high of $8 billion in FY23, despite three years of a sluggish global market caused by the pandemic, logistical hurdles and strict inspections of shrimp consignments.
“We are optimistic about achieving new heights through a multipronged strategy, hinging on sustainable fishing methods, value addition, increased aquaculture production through diversification, and aggressively tapping into new markets,” D V Swamy, Chairman, Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), said.
As part of the strategy to boost exports in FY23, MPEDA has organised around 40 Virtual Buyer Seller Meets (VBSMs) with several countries including Japan, China, Russia, the UK, and some Middle East countries.
MPEDA researched the seafood market in China, the second largest importer of Indian seafood, while similar studies for countries in CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States), the Middle East and South East Asia have been planned.
Indian seafood products
Plans have also been drawn up for participation in upcoming trade fairs like Gulfood, SENA Boston and SEG Barcelona during February-April to gather knowledge on the latest developments in the industry and display assorted Indian seafood products in the overseas market to improve trade.
Noting that India has many processing units adopting state-of-the-art technology in seafood processing, Swamy said this makes the country a most attractive market for machinery manufacturers, suppliers and certification bodies.
“MPEDA has been making required interventions in the production, value addition and market promotion of seafood to achieve the export target. Such a step has also become imperative to strengthen the brand, quality and competitiveness of Indian seafood and minimise rejections of shipments, especially in the European and Japanese markets,” he said.
During 2021-22, India exported 13,69,264 tons of marine products worth $ 7.76 billion (Rs 575.86 billion), registering an all-time high export by value.
Frozen shrimp remained the major export item in quantity and value, accounting for a share of 53 per cent in quantity and 75 per cent of the total revenue.
The US was the largest market, with a 43.45 per cent share in dollar terms, followed by China (15.14 per cent), Europe (14.98 per cent) and SouthEast Asia (10.04 per cent).
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