Introduction
India is the second-largest fish and aquaculture-producing country. It accounts for 7.56% of the total global fish production. The industry employs more than 28 million people in India.
In 2019-20, the total marine and inland fish production of India stood at 14.16 million metric tonne (MT). The overall production of marine products in India has been growing consistently for the last 10 years.
India mainly has eight major fish-producing states: Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
Export Trend
India is among the top 5 fish exporting countries in the world. About 17% of India’s agricultural exports are fish and fish products. In, 2020-21, the country exported marine products of quantity 1.15 million MT. The value of exports for the same year was US$ 5.96 billion.
In February 2022, the value of marine products exports was US$ 506.16 million; a Y-o-Y increase of 15.07% from the same period last year.
India mainly exports frozen shrimps, fish, cuttlefish, squids, dried items, live and chilled items. Out of these, frozen shrimp is the largest exported marine product contributing to more than 50% of the total quantity and about 75% of the total export value (i.e. US$ 4.43 billion for 2020-21).
In 2020-21, the frozen fish, cuttlefish and squid contributed 6.7%, 3.73% and 4.6% of the total marine products export value respectively. The same contributed to 16.37%, 5.16% and 5.3% of the total quantity exported in the same year.
Major Export Markets
India exports fish and fish products to China, the US, Japan, the EU, the Middle East, and South-East Asia. US, China and South-East Asia are the biggest importers of Indian marine products. The exports to the three regions for the year 2020-21 were 25.4%, 19% and 18.9% of the total exported quantity respectively.
Government Initiatives
Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY)
The PMMSY was introduced in 2020 to increase the productivity, production capacity, and area under cultivation and to increase the exports of marine products in India. The objective of the scheme is to increase the fish production to 22 million MT by 2024-25, enhance aquaculture productivity to 5 tonnes per hectare and increase the GVA contribution of the fisheries sector to 9% by 2024-25.
Government Body
The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA))
The MPEDA was formed in 1972 for the development of the seafood industry in India and to realize its full export potential. The focus of MPEDA is on market promotion, capturing fisheries, research and development, quality control, infrastructure processing and value addition. The authority also advises the central government for setting new standards for fishing vessels, storage premises, processing plants and conveyances.
Department of Fisheries (DoF)
The DoF was formed in 2019 by dividing the fisheries division from the now known as the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries. The roles of the department are development of the fish industry, promotion of fisheries and welfare of fishermen, statistics, regulations, and carrying out surveys.
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