Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: India achieved a record-breaking milestone in seafood exports during the financial year 2023-24, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The country exported a total of 17,81,602 metric tons (MT) of seafood, valued at Rs 60,523.89 crore ($7.38 billion), despite facing significant challenges in key export markets.
Frozen shrimp emerged as the leading export in terms of both quantity and value, with the US and China being the primary importers of Indian seafood. The overall export volume increased by 2.67 percent compared to the previous year, when India exported 17,35,286 MT worth Rs 63,969.14 crore ($ 8.094 billion).
D V Swamy, Chairman of the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), highlighted the achievement, noting the all-time high export volume despite difficulties in major markets such as the USA, EU, and UK.
Frozen shrimp exports from India generated Rs 40,013.54 crore ($4.881 billion), accounting for 40.19 percent of the total export volume and 66.12 percent of total earnings. The export volume of frozen shrimp increased by 0.69 percent, 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 saw significant growth, with a 24.91 percent increase in quantity, 11.33 percent in value.. A total of 38,987 MT of BT shrimp worth Rs 2,855.27 crore ($347.84 million) were exported, with China (including Hong Kong) being the largest market, followed by the USA, the European Union, and Japan.
