India’s seafood exports rose 14.3 percent year over year to USD 3.65 billion (EUR 3.18 billion) between April and August of this year, as shipments to the U.S. remained stable and exporters expanded sales to other markets during the five-month period.
In August alone, marine product exports increased 27 percent year over year to about USD 760 million (EUR 661 million), according to preliminary data from India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry, cited by the Financial Express.
The U.S. remains the country’s largest seafood export market, with an Indian seafood exporter telling the Financial Express that shipments to the U.S. had remained stable for the past several months.
This stability comes after Indian seafood exporters faced an effective U.S. tariff of 59.71 percent last year before the rate was subsequently reduced to 18 percent. Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) Chairman P Jawahar said U.S. importers and Indian exporters were sharing the cost of the current tariff equally, adding that he expects shipments to the U.S. to remain strong as consumer demand is expected to increase from October onward.
According to recent reports, India and the U.S. are nearing completion on a trade deal, with India Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal stating that the deal is “almost done and dusted,” according to Telegraph India.
India has also been seeking to diversify its seafood exports.
Last month, the E.U. approved another 21 Indian fishery establishments to export to the bloc, taking the total number of E.U.-approved facilities in the country to 625.
Trade sources told the Financial Express that the additional approvals were expected to support shipments of aquaculture shrimp and cephalopods to Europe. The approved facilities are located across Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha, and Maharashtra.
The E.U. was India’s third-largest seafood export destination last fiscal year after the U.S. and China and accounted for more than 15 percent of total shipments, according. Belgium, Spain and Italy are among the main E.U. markets for Indian seafood.
Earlier this year, the E.U. and India signed a massive free trade agreement, zeroing out duties on seafood and other goods.
“The E.U. and India make history today, deepening the partnership between the world's biggest democracies,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a January release. “We have created a free trade zone of 2 billion people, with both sides set to gain economically. We have sent a signal to the world that rules-based cooperation still delivers great outcomes. And, best of all, this is only the start; we will build on this success and grow our relationship to be even stronger.”
Overall, India exported a record USD 8.43 billion (EUR 7.33 billion) of marine products in the 2025-26 fiscal year, up 14 percent from the previous year. An official attributed the increase partly to stronger shipments to Europe, China, and Southeast Asia.
