August 10, 2009

China's threat to embargo Indian seafood from India has worried exporters of Veraval in Gujarat state in West India.

One of the biggest export businesses of Gujarat is fishing but China's threat to stop fish import has upset fish exporters.

Reportedly, this decision came after Indian government decided to ban Chinese chocolates and milk products in India.

Although China has not confirmed it yet, a hint from the Chinese government has put Indian fish exporters in a fix.

Jitubhai Kuhada, president of Veraval Fishermen Association said Gujarat send 70 to 80 percent of seafood to China yearly and the state will incur a great loss if China's ban will pursue. Veraval alone has over 3000 boats going into the deep sea for fishing and nearly 60 thousand fishermen are involved in this business.

The fish processing units in Veraval are of high quality and can match international standards be it quality of seafood and the packing.

However, some exporters are apprehensive as they believe that China cannot afford to ban the Indian seafood because India provides major portion of its seafood consumption.

Veraval is home to a number of fish processing factories and it exports prime quality seafood to USA, Japan, South East Asia, Gulf and EU countries.