April 30, 2007

 

Indian seafood continues to see strong demand from the EU

 

 

Indian seafood continues to make waves in the EU's seafood market, as evidenced in the recent European Seafood Exposition in Brussels.

 

Main Indian exports to the market are cuttlefish, shrimps and squids.

 

Fifteen Indian companies participated in this year's annual fair held from April 24 to 26.

 

The fair saw over 1,600 exhibitors from more than 77 countries and is considered to be the world's largest seafood fair.

 

India exported US$1.8 billion worth of seafood last year, with EU as its largest market.

 

The EU market would continue to expand, G. Mohan Kumar, chairman of the Marine Products Export Development Authority of India (MPEDA) said.

 

Thirty per cent of marine products from India are exported to the 27 EU member states.

 

The number of rejected shipments due to antibiotic residues have also been cut down due to stricter hygiene standards and better technical facilities in India's seafood industry, Kumar noted.

 

Besides expanding demand, supportive government policies has also helped India's seafood exports.

 

Prabhat Kumar of the Digha Sea food export said the West Bengal government strongly supports the seafood industry and has established a food-processing centre in the region.

 

The region has excellent facilities and it will go a long way in giving the needed thrust to the fisheries sector in West Bengal, he added.