India set a goal to double the value of its seafood exports to INR 1 trillion (USD 12.86 billion, EUR 12 billion) in the next five years, The Economic Times reported 7 June, citing Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles Piyush Goyal.
Goyal made the comment at an event held earlier this week at the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), a statutory body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in charge of promoting Indian marine products exports.
"This target will be achieved through sustainable fishing, ensuring quality and variety, promotion of coastal shipping and aquaculture, and by supporting the entire fisheries ecosystem," Goyal said.
India concluded a free trade agreements with the UAE and Australia, and is in progress of negotiating such an agreement with the United Kingdom and Canada. Talks on a free trade agreement with the E.U. are also scheduled to begin on 17 June.
At the event, MPEDA’s Chairman K.N. Raghavan delivered a presentation to provide a roadmap of how the new seafood export value target can be achieved.
Minister Goyal discussed “various issues, challenges and solutions facing the sector” with the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) during a meeting at MPEDA office in Kochi. Goyal pledged to carry out interventions to clear difficulties on the import of raw materials, with the aim of turning India into a seafood processing hub in the near future.
India’s seafood-export value reached an all-time high in its most-recent fiscal year, which ended 31 March, 2022.
The country exported seafood worth USD 7.74 billion (EUR 7.2 billion) in its 2021-2022 fiscal year, the highest in its history and rising 29.9 percent year-on-year. However, the total was still below the Indian Ministry of Commerce’s value target for the year of USD 7.81 billion (EUR 7.3 billion).
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