India’s shrimp exports may surpass USD 7 billion (EUR 5.8 billion) by 2022, doubling the country’s figure for 2016, according to a new report from Mumbai-based credit rating agency Crisil.
The report, published in the New Indian Express, said that the increase will be fueled by strong demand, particularly from global retail giants and restaurant chains.
The report also said Indian shrimp exports were rising in demand due to their high quality, an improved product mix, and an increasing available supply due to aquaculture expansion in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, and West Bengal. The rating agency also value-added products will make up an increasing share – up to 15 percent – of India’s seafood export basket.
During 2013-14 fiscal year, India's shrimp exports totaled 301,435 metric tons, a figure that increased to 373,866 tons during 2015-16 fiscal year, when India overtook Vietnam and became the world’s top exporter of shrimp, according to Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) data. In 2017, India has so far earned USD 3.8 billion (EUR 3.3 billion) from exports, even as Vietnam’s exports flatlined at USD 3 billion (EUR 2.6 billion).
Commenting on the report, Alex K. Nain, the president of the Kerala chapter of the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) told the newspaper that aquaculture production is thriving in many states thanks in part to the support of state governments. With stock being available in abundance, exporters have even started investing in the construction of processing plants in those states, Nain said.
