India’s seafood exports touched an all-time high in volume during the financial year 2023-24, Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on Wednesday.
The ministry highlighted that India shipped 17,81,602 MT (metric ton) of seafood worth Rs 60,523.89 crore (USD 7.38 billion) during 2023-24. The country has achieved that despite various challenges in the export markets.
In terms of major items of export, Frozen shrimp lead in quantity and value, while the USA and China became the major importers of India’s seafood.
During FY 2023-24, the export improved in quantity terms by 2.67 per cent. In 2022-23, India exported 17,35,286 MT of seafood worth Rs 63,969.14 crore (USD 8,094.31million).
“India recorded an all-time high export in terms of volume by shipping 17,81,602 MT of seafood worth US$ 7.38 billion, despite the several challenges in its major export markets like the USA, EU & the UK,” said D V Swamy IAS, Chairman, Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA).
Frozen shrimp exports from India earned Rs 40,013.54 crore (USD 4881.27 million), representing 40.19 per cent of the total export quantity and 66.12 per cent of the total earnings.
During 2023-24, frozen shrimp exports increased by 0.69 per cent in quantity, reaching 716,004 MT. The USA was the largest market, importing 297,571 MT, followed by China (148,483 MT), the European Union (89,697 MT), Southeast Asia (52,254 MT), Japan (35,906 MT), and the Middle East (28,571 MT).
The export of black tiger (BT) shrimp grew by 24.91 per cent in quantity, 11.33 per cent in value, and 8.28 per cent in USD terms.
A total of 38,987 MT of BT shrimp worth Rs 2,855.27 crore (USD 347.84 million) were exported, with China (including Hong Kong) being the largest market, accounting for 28.43 per cent in USD value, followed by the USA (18.21 per cent), the European Union (18.06 per cent), and Japan (13.12 per cent).
The USA remained the top importer of Indian seafood, with imports worth USD 2,549.15 million, representing 34.53 per cent in USD value. Exports to the USA grew by 7.46 per cent in quantity and 1.42 per cent in value but declined by 3.15 per cent in USD terms.
Frozen shrimp made up 91.90 per cent of the exports to the USA. Black tiger shrimp exports to the USA increased by 35.37 per cent in quantity and 32.35 per cent in USD value.
China was the second-largest export destination, with imports of 451,363 MT worth USD 1,384.89 million, accounting for 25.33 per cent in quantity and 18.76 per cent in USD value. Exports to China grew by 12.80 per cent in quantity but declined by 0.88 per cent in value and 4.21 per cent in USD value.
Frozen shrimp and frozen fish were the major items exported to China.
Japan ranked third, importing 6.06 per cent in quantity and 5.42 per cent in USD value. Frozen shrimp was the main export item to Japan, with a share of 33.26 per cent in quantity and about 66 per cent in both rupees and USD value.