India’s government is projecting the country will earn USD 8.8 billion (EUR 8.85 billion) from seafood exports in the 2022 fiscal year, buoyed by strong second-quarter sales.
Between April and June 2022, India racked up nearly USD 2 billion (EUR 2.01 billion) in seafood exports by volume, up 15 percent year-on-year. Seafood Exporters’ Association of India (West Bengal Region) President Rajarshi Banerjee credited a recovery in demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic tapering off, the Economic Times reported.
“We feel that the next two quarters [will] be good, as intake in the U.S. and the E.U. [will] go up,” he said.
In mid-August, Marine Products Export Development Authority’s Chairman KN Raghavan said India hopes to reach USD 14 billion (EUR 14.09 billion) in seafood exports by 2025. The country’s seafood sales hit an all-time high of USD 7.76 billion (EUR 7.81 billion) in its last fiscal year ending on 31 March, 2022, an increase of 30.3 percent year-on-year.
Of that total, India exported 728,123 metric tons (MT) of frozen shrimp, up 23.35 percent year-on-year, with a sales value of USD 5.83 billion (EUR 5.87 billion), 31.7 percent higher year-on-year. The top destinations for India’s shrimp were the U.S. with 342,572 MT; China with 125,667 MT; the E.U. with 90,549 MT; Southeast Asia with 44,683 MT; Japan with 38,492 MT; and the Middle East with 37,158 MT.
Raghavan said Indian farmers should focus on producing disease-free shrimp to keep up with rising demand.
Furthermore, with shrimp now accounting for the majority of India’s seafood export market value, Raghavan said the country is prioitizing the commercialization of other species to balance its exports and achieve further growth.
“We are trying to develop the market for fish like tilapia, pomfret, squid, and black tiger shrimp, among others,” he said.
India is also looking for new markets for its seafood products. At present, the country ships its seafood to 123 countries, with the U.S., China and the E.U. ranked as its top markets.
Photo courtesy of Parikh Mahendra N/Shutterstock
