March 9, 2011

 

Indian seafood exports volume climb 6.6%, surpass US$2 billion

 

 

India's seafood exports went up by 6.6% in volume and exceeded US$2 billion during the April-December 2010 period.

 

Sales saw an increase of 18.9% in rupee terms and 24.7% in dollar terms versus their realisation in April-December 2009.

 

India sold 547,249 tonnes worth INR91.87 billion (US$2.02 billion) compared with 513,373 tonnes valued at INR77.25 billion (US$1.7 billion) in the corresponding period of the preceding financial year.

 

Frozen shrimp was still in the top spot and made up 48.61% of the total turnover.

 

Shrimp exports climbed 12.54% in quantity and 33.94% and 40.72% in rupee and dollar terms, respectively. Frozen shrimp exports to the US skyrocketed by 88.12% in volume and 149.05% in dollar terms. Shrimp exports to Japan grew by 23.55% in volume and 42.74% in value.

 

During April-December 2010, India sent 7,363 tonnes worth of consignments of vannamei species of shrimp to other countries.

 

The main export item in quantity terms and the second largest item in value terms is fish, which accounted for 36.01% of the total volume of exports and 18.33% of the value in dollars.

 

Dried items grew in sales by 50.27% in quantity but fell in rupee value by 14.99% versus the same period last year. The Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) said that better landings contributed to boosted exports.

 

Landings of cuttle fish, squid and black tiger prawns were higher and lent a hand in lowering the domestic price, helping India be more competitive in the global market.

 

The EU remained the principal market with a share of 26.14% of realisation in dollar terms despite a drop of 4.87% in volume.

 

The US reclaimed the second position with a share of 17.43%, followed by Japan with 15.12%, South East Asia with 15.07%, China with 14.09%, West Asia with 4.73% and other countries with 7.44%.

 

Exports during the 2010-11 financial year are expected to exceed US$2.3 billion.