India’s seafood exports witness 7.39% drop in FY 2019-20

According to Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), India shipped 12,89,651 MT of seafood worth Rs 46,662.85 crore (US$ 6.68 billion) during 2019-20, largely cushioning the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Frozen shrimp remained the major export item in terms of quantity and value followed by frozen fish while the USA and China turned out to be the major importers of India’s seafood. MPEDA further informs, “During the FY 2019-20, the export improved in rupee term by 0.16 per cent, but the quantity and US dollar value declined by 7.39 per cent and 0.74 per cent, respectively.”
In 2018-19, India had exported 13, 92,559 MT of seafood worth Rs 46,589.37 crore (US$ 6,728.50 million).
K S Srinivas, Chairman, MPEDA, said, “India managed to export 12,89,651 MT of seafood, despite the sluggish demand in its major export markets caused by the pandemic, which led to cancellation of several orders, reduced and delayed payments, slowdown of cargo movements and difficulty in getting new orders. The decline in sea catch along the west coast due to reduced fishing days has also been a reason for the shortfall in quantity.”
“We missed the 7-billion-dollar target, though not by a fair distance. However, exports are now likely to witness an uptick as lockdowns have been eased globally and there is an increased sale of value added products in retail chains. MPEDA”s vision is to take Indian seafood exports to Rs one lakh crore by 2030,” he adds.
Frozen shrimp, which earned Rs 34,152.03 crore (US$ 4,889.12 million), retained its position as the most significant item in the basket of seafood exports, accounting for a share of 50.58 per cent in quantity and 73.21 per cent of the total dollar earnings. Shrimp exports during the period increased by 6.04 per cent in dollar value and 6.20 per cent in quantity.