India's Seafood Exports Set to Reach Record Level of USD 8 billion

In 2021-22, India exported 13,69,264 tonnes of marine products worth US$ 7.76 billion (Rs 575.86 billion), an all-time high in terms of value, while shrimp production exceeded one million MT. Frozen shrimp remained the most important export item in terms of quantity and value, accounting for 53% of total revenue and 53% of total volume.

D.V. Swamy, chairman of the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), expressed optimism about reaching new heights through a multifaceted strategy based on sustainable fishing methods, value addition, increased aquaculture production through diversification, and aggressively entering new markets.

"Furthermore, the reduction in customs duty on ingredients used in the manufacture of aquatic feed, such as fish lipid oil, fish meal, Krill meal, mineral, and vitamin premix, will help to reduce production costs, providing a competitive edge to the entire stakeholders of the aquaculture industry," Swamy said.

MPEDA has arranged around 40 Virtual Buyer Seller Meets (VBSMs) with Japan, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, Germany, Malaysia, South Korea, Oman, Singapore, and Spain as part of its strategy to increase exports in FY 2022-23.

MPEDA investigated the seafood market in China, the second largest importer of Indian seafood, and similar studies are planned for countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Middle East, and South East Asia.

Swamy also stated that the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture (RGCA), MPEDA's technology standardization and transfer wing, is establishing a pilot project of Broodstock Multiplication Centre (BMC) of Penaeus monodon (tiger prawn) developed from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in Visakhapatnam with the assistance of the Department of Fisheries.

"MPEDA has been making necessary interventions in seafood production, value addition, and market promotion to attain the target," Swamy said.