By exporting 1,735,286 million tonnes (MT) of seafood valued at US$ 8.09 billion (Rs. 63,969.14 crore) during FY23, India set a record for seafood exports in both terms of volume and value (both US$ and Rs.). This was accomplished despite numerous difficulties in some of its key export markets, including the USA.
The export increased by 4.31% in terms of US$, 11.08% in Rs., and 26.73% in quantity throughout the course of FY23. India exported seafood worth US$ 7.75 billion (Rs. 57,586.48 crore) in 2021-22 totalling 1,369,264 MT.
In terms of both quantity and value, frozen shrimp remained the major export item and USA and China emerged as the major importers of India’s seafood. With a share of 40.98% in terms of quantity and 67.72% of the total US$ revenues, frozen shrimp maintained their position as the most significant export item of seafood, earning US$ 5.48 billion (Rs. 43,135.58 crore).
In terms of rupee value, shrimp exports during the period increased by 1.01%. The estimated total export of frozen shrimp during 2022-23 was 711,099 MT. The largest market, the USA, imported the most frozen prawns (275,662 MT), followed by China (145,743 MT), the European Union (95,377 MT), South-East Asia (65,466 MT), Japan (40,975 MT), and the Middle East (31,647 MT).
The export of black tiger (BT) shrimp increased by 74.06%, 68.64%, and 55.41% in quantity, Rupee value and US$ terms respectively in 2022-23. The second-largest exported item, frozen fish, brought in US$ 687.05 million (Rs. 5,503.18 crore), making up 21.24% of its total value and 8.49% of its US$ earnings.
This year, the export of frozen fish increased in quantity, Rs. and US$ value, respectively, by 62.65%, 58.51%, and 45.73%. The third-largest export basket included surimi, frozen octopus, surimi analogue products, canned products, and frozen lobster, among others and the frozen squid was the fourth-largest exported seafood item.
Moreover, the export of dried items showed a significant increase of 243.27% in quantity and 167.7% in US$ terms and stood at 252,918 MT. With an import worth US$ 2.63 billion and a share of 32.52% in terms of US$ value, the USA remained the largest importer of Indian seafood in terms of value.
Whereas, China emerged as the second-largest seafood export destination from India in terms of quantity and US$ both, with an import of 405,547 MT worth US$ 1.50 billion, accounting for 23.37% share in quantity and 18.64% in US$ terms. The European Union, South-East Asia, and Japan were the third, fourth, and fifth-largest export destinations, respectively from India in FY23.
