Indian seafood production is showing an increasing trend in the long-term, according to a newly released report.
The Compound Livestock Feed Manufacturers Association of India (CLFMA) said in its report that during 2015-16, India fish production was 10.79 million metric MT (MT), with a contribution of 7.21 million MT coming from the country’s inland sector and 3.58 million MT from marine sectors. India’s total was pegged at 8.18 million MT during the three quarters of 2016-17, putting the country on track to meet or surpass its totals from the previous year. The total currently ranks India as the second-largest seafood producer after China.
Leading the charge is India’s aquaculture sector, which has increased its production eightfold since 1950, advancing from 0.75 million MT or production in 1950-51 to 10.79 million MT in 2015-16. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, India’s freshwater aquaculture production doubled between 2007 and 2015, moving from 2.96 million MT to 4.63 million MT in 2015. Production from wild-caught fisheries has been nearly flat since 2007, according to the FAO.
According to the report, India has an area of close to seven million hectares producing seafood. The total includes reservoirs covering 3.15 million hectares, ponds and tanks covering 2.36 million hectares, brackishwater areas estimated at 1.24 million hectares, and rivers and canals contributing 0.19 million hectares.
Freshwater aquaculture has even further to grow in India, according to the report. Production potential in the inland portions of the country is seen as particularly promising, as it has been increasing at a steady rate, and now actually comprises a majority of India’s total production, with a 66.81 percent share. If this growth continues for the next five years, India will achieve eight percent annual growth rate for seafood production and by 2019-20, production of 15 million MT is achievable, against the current production of 10.79 million MT in 2015-16.
India also has great potential to increase its own domestic consumption rates for seafood. The report emphasized that there is huge scope for growth especially in the country’s landlocked states, as these state have very less fish consumption as compared to coastal areas. Just half of India’s population consumes any fish at all, and average per capita consumption is a mere 3.2 kilograms per year in rural areas and three kilograms in urban areas, as compared to a global average of 25 kilograms per capita per annum in developed countries. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recommends each India aim to eat 11 kilograms of fish annually.
