February 11, 2005

 

 

India's seafood exports may dip 10%

 

India's seafood exports for the current fiscal year may fall by 10-15 percent on year from the cumulative impact of anti-dumping duties imposed by the US, impact of tsunami and drop in prices of marine products, said Mr A. J. Tharakan, President of the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI).

 

This is a fall from the US$1.33 billion worth of exports last year.

 

Mr Tharakan was quoted as saying that the year has been a disturbing one for the seafood industry.

 

The US decision in last December to impose a 9.45 percent duty Indian shrimp imports and current uncertainties have resulted in Indian shrimp exports to the US falling significantly.

 

The US accounted for 28 percent in value terms and 13 percent in volume terms of India's total seafood exports in 2003-04. Mr Tharakan estimated US exports to fall further by 15 percent, both in terms of value and volume.

 

December's tsunami had struck a double whammy on the seafood industry, destroying huge swathes of the country's marine ecosystem in the east and west coast and shrimp resources, the SEAI President said.

 

"Now we see that there has been significant changes in ocean bottom right across the east and west coast. The seabed is now covered with slush," he said. This change in the seabed has severely impacted the shrimp resources since shrimp is a bottom resident fish.

 

"We are seeing astronomical drop in shrimp catches, " Mr Tharakan said, adding that if the damage had not been substantial, situation should have come back to normal by now. "It seems to be a major collateral damage to the ocean environment."

 

The Association is now planning to assess the impact of the tsunami with the help of institutions such as Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute.

 

Mr Tharakan said hatcheries were also affected since they could not procure enough mother shrimps to generate seed material. Since the Union Government did not permit imports of seeds, the aquaculture farms were 'starving' now, he said. "Things are not looking good at all."

 

In addition to these factors, decline in marine product prices and the US dollar depreciation have hit exporters this year. Since August 2004, prices fell by 15-20 per ent because of a glut in the market. The dollar has declined by nearly four percent since January 2004.