January 10, 2013

India's farmed vannamei shrimp production and sales are expected to increase five-fold once the new Aquatic Quarantine Facility in Chennai is opened.

Seafood exports reached a record high of US$3.5 billion in the fiscal year 2011-12, representing a rise of 29% in INR terms and around 23% in USD terms, said the Department of Animal Husbandry Dairying and Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Of this, shrimps made up around half of the value, a record of US$1.74 billion in exports. This increase was possible due to augmented aquaculture output, mainly of black tiger shrimp, which is a native shrimp species.

The increased production of vannamei shrimp, which was was introduced in India in 2009, is crucial for the industry to reach the new benchmark in exports, the Ministry of Agriculture added.

To ensure the sustainability of the vannamei shrimp farming sector, the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture (RGCA) has constructed a new wing, Phase II with funding from the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), Ministry of Agriculture, to quarantine vannamei brooders.

The third and the final phase of the factory is currently in the works and is expected to ramp up the total quarantine capacity of the plant to 20 cubicles (quarantine around 237,600 brooder every year) and would allow for a fivefold rise in shrimp aquaculture output and thus in revenue earnings for India's economy.