India exported 251,735 metric tons (MT) of seafood products with a value in excess of USD 1.4 billion (EUR 1.2 billion) in the first-quarter of the current fiscal year, up from 201,223 MT and less than USD 1.2 billion (EUR 1 billion) in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, according to the country’s Marine Products Development Authority (MPEDA).
The United States was the leading destination for India’s seafood exports with the market importing 54,344 MT of seafood worth USD 499.3 million (EUR 421.9 million) and accounting for 35.1 percent of the total trade (in value terms).
Southeast Asia had a 31.2 percent share of India’s overseas seafood trade in the quarter, followed by the EU (14.7 percent) and Japan (6.7 percent).
India also saw increased demand from China in the quarter, with the country accounting for almost 3.1 percent of its seafood export value.
Frozen shrimp remained the No. 1 export item, accounting for almost 51 percent of the volume and 75 percent of the total export value. Shrimp exports increased by 20.9 percent in volume and 21.6 percent in dollar terms.
Next in importance was frozen squid, which accounted for 7.8 percent of the export volume and 5.8 percent of the dollar value, with the latter increasing by more than 40 percent.
