With its massive population and fast growing wealth, India has been singled out by Norwegian seafood producers and exporters as a market with considerable long-term potential. Similarly, the demand for imported products in the Indian market is expected to increase considerably over the coming years.
Less than two months ago, in order to gain a stronger foothold in the market, the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) – a public company owned by Norway’s Ministry of Trade and Fisheries – appointed its first country director, Yogi Shergill. From his base at the Royal Norwegian Consulate in Mumbai, Shergill’s remit is to build on the existing business activities developed by NSC and Norwegian companies in the Indian market, and to explore the potential for export growth, particularly salmon and cod.
“Our member companies – exporters and fish farmers – are very interested to tap into this burgeoning market and they will drive our activities moving forward. Essentially, we will see how we can help ease the exporting process and create an easier entry point for Norwegian seafood,” Shergill told SeafoodSource.
To date, the volumes into India have not been very high, and the focus has been on salmon and salmon products, because the cod market in India is virtually “non-existent” at present, he said.
In 2015, India imported a total of 240 metric tons (MT) of salmon, of which Norway’s share was 65 MT with a value of NOK 2.5 million (USD 304,312 EUR 269,556). Already – for the first four months of 2016 – the Norwegian volume was 50 MT with an approximate value of EUR 242,000 (USD 273,294).
There is a clear increase in value, which is in line with the higher price of salmon, said Shergill.
“Fifty tons in four months is not a lot but we are seeing a clear pull, and there’s more demand coming, although it’s from a very small base.
“There are already five or six exporters sending salmon to India and another 10 that are interested. So we have 10 to 15 exporters showing a keen interest in the Indian market,” said Shergill. “There are also a lot of people wanting to discuss ways to progress things from the Indian side.
“At this early stage, the plan is not to put a lot of volumes into the Indian market because there are a lot of barriers to entry like import duties, the cold chain is not stable, distribution lines are not in place and veterinarian rules are different from city to city. So we have to work with this and see what we can do to unify things and make it easier for exporters.”
Nevertheless, Indian seafood consumption has grown six-fold in the past 20 years, and with its wild fisheries unable to contribute much more additional product, a lot of any further increases will mostly come from imported species, said Shergill.
The market is also seeing that increased wealth is raising the demand for such imports.
“Essentially, we are looking at seven major centers – Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Goa – 90 million people, of which at least 3 to 5 million have the buying power for products like salmon.
“If these 3 to 5 million people eat just one more kilo of fish each, that’s as much as 5,000 MT.
“It’s too early to say at this stage what Norway’s volumes to the market will be, but the potential and the buying power are there. There are a lot of five-star hotels all over India that are now offering salmon and so we definitely see Horeca as a big market. There are also a lot more supermarkets coming with increased fresh food offerings.”
Shergill said his role is to look at things from a “holistic viewpoint,” to create a foundation or meeting point for important players on both the Norwegian and Indian sides, as well as hopefully increasing the protein demand in India.
He has extensive travel plans in place for the coming weeks that he believes will help him come up with more solid numbers.
“It’s about creating a win-win plan for how we can progress over the next 12 and 24 months.
“Everything takes time, but if you have the patience and staying power you will succeed. It may not come in one year or two years, but you have to start somewhere, and to do this in five years may be too late. Therefore, we feel it’s best to act now,” said Shergill.
