Seafood Exporters’ Association of India is calling for a 20 percent decline in seafood exports this fiscal year, which runs through March 31. During a press briefing, Anwar Hashim, the association’s president, said the industry is struggling through difficult times.
Last fiscal year, the industry profited a little less than $1.6 billion worth of seafood, compared to $1.7 billion in 2006-07, and exported 541,701 metric tons in 2007-08, down from 612,641 metric tons the previous year.
Gul Kriplani, chairman of Maharashtra Chapter of Seafood Exporters Association, said the biggest challenge for Maharashtra is raw material purchasing. Kriplani reported that domestic seafood prices are 15 percent higher than international prices.
According to Kriplani, Maharashtra seafood exporters didn’t feel the pinch until holiday season, when the usual rush didn’t occur. Kriplani said Maharashtra’s seafood exports fell 25 percent in value this fiscal year.
Kriplani is in talks with seafood brokers and boat owners to cut production costs. Loan providers within the state have also committed to reduce the interest rate by 2 percent, to 8.5 percent.
Kenny Thomas, president of Gujarat’s Veraval Fish Traders’ Association, said his state’s seafood exports plummeted 30 percent this fiscal year. Gujarat ships 60 percent of its seafood to China, 30 percent to the European Union, while the rest goes to the United States and South Africa.
Thomas expects up to 1 million seafood workers to lose their jobs due to the economic hardship.
