India targets USD 15 billion from shrimp exports by 2022

India has set a target of earning INR 1 trillion (USD 15.28 billion, EUR 12.99 billion) from its shrimp exports by 2022.

At a recent a stakeholders’ meeting, Indian Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairy, and Fisheries (DADF) Secretary Devendra Chaudhry said the government’s strategy for growing shrimp exports will be focused on increasing demand in the European Union, U.S.A. and Southeast Asia.

The meeting came in the wake of the European Union’s detection of antibiotics including nitrofuran and chloramphenicol in shrimp exported from India, after which the E.U. increased the frequency of inspections of Indian shrimp exports from 10 to 50 percent, starting in October 2016. 

Chaudhry didn’t directly mention the European Union’s growing complaints about contamination found in Indian shrimp imports. However, he did call the overuse of antibiotics in Indian aquaculture “a problem” – particularly in shrimp farms and hatcheries, according to a statement from the department he leads. He added that stakeholders concerns and possible causes of the problem were discussed in detail and both questions and suggestions were passed on to various regulatory agencies in the Central and State Governments overseeing regulation of the shrimp trade.

During 2016-17, India earned INR 378 billion (USD 5.78 billion, EUR 4.91 billion) from exporting 1.13 million tons of shrimp. In the previous year, India earned USD 4.69 billion (EUR 3.99 billion) from exporting 940,000 metric tons of shrimp. According to the DADF, frozen shrimp maintained its position last year as the No. 1 contributor to India’s seafood exports, with 38.28 percent share in quantity and 64.50 percent of the total earnings in terms of value.

Representatives of Coastal States, National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), Export Inspection Council (EIC), Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA) and other stakeholders including Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI), All India Shrimp Hatcheries Association (AISHA), Society of Aquaculture Professionals (SAP), Prawn Farmers Federations, Compound Livestock Feed Manufacturers Association (CLFMA) and fisheries institutions were present at the meeting.

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