Seafood exports to surge to $14 bn by 2025: Govt

KOLKATA: India is aiming to double its seafood exports to $14billionby2025fromtheFY22level, Union minister of state for commerce and industry Anupriya Patel said in Kolkata.

The Country exported 1.36 million tonne (MT) of seafoods during 202122, earning an all-time record of $7.76 billion. “In two years from now, we plan to achieve a target of $14 billion,” she said after inaugurating the 23rd edition of India International Seafood Show(IISS).

NotingthatIndiaisalreadyamong the world’s top five seafood-exporting countries,theMinistersaid17%ofthe country’s agricultural exports comprises fish and allied products. “We are the world’s third-largest fish producer,second-largestaquaculture producer and fourth-largest seafood exporter,” she pointed out at the start of the three-day event being organised by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) in association with the Seafood Exporters Association ofIndia(SEAI).

Noting duty concessions on the import of vital shrimp/fish feed ingredients announced in the Union Budget 2023-24, Patel said the government’s measures towards protection of the interest of the country’s aqua farmers and the sector as a whole. “We slashed the import duty from 15% to 5% for fish meal/krillmealandvitaminpremixes, whereas the duty has been halved to 15% for fish lipid oil and algal prime,” shesaid.