January 12, 2007

India sets US$6 billion marine export target by 2015

India's Marine Products Export Development Authority has drawn up a vision plan for the marine products export industry to meet US$ 6 billion by 2015.

Areas identified include value-addition, expansion of aquaculture, technological upgrades and tapping of unexplored resources.

The agency is studying the feasibility of setting up aqua-farming in hinterland areas of Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, MPEDA director marketing Kuruvilla Thomas said.

Seafood exports for the current fiscal is estimated at Rs 7,200 crores (US$ 1.64 billion) with frozen shrimps making up 64 percent of the total. While there had been a marginal increase in the quantity of frozen shrimp exports, all other major items, such as frozen fish, cuttlefish and squid, fell in quantity.

On aquaculture, the agency said the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for aquaculture is commercialising new technologies for scientific aquaculture.