Now world's No. 1, India exports shrimp worth US$3.1B annually  
 

 

India has become the world's biggest shrimp exporter, shipping 438,500 tonnes to the US and other markets last year. The volume is 14.5% more than in 2015, according to updated data compiled by Globefish, the Food and Agriculture Organisation's fish-trade site.

The South Asian country now exports US$3.1 billion worth of farmed shrimp a year, Business World reported.

Most of the exports find their way to the US. Other key markets are Vietnam, the EU and Japan.
 

Some 65% of exported farmed shrimp come from the state of Andhra Pradesh, followed by the states of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Odisha. Giant tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon) are farmed in the states of West Bengal, Odisha and Kerala, and the white shrimp (P. vannamei) in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Odisha.

According to the Business Standard, India's stellar export performance came despite the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) rejection of 95 Indian shrimp consignments last year due to concerns of antibiotics use.

There is also a threat of a ban by the EU, which is India's third-biggest market. In fact, as per Globefish, Indian exports to the EU dropped in 2016 as the EU Veterinary Authority imposed more quality checks on Indian farmed shrimps. The move also sparked off additional costs for importers, leading to a "diversification of shipments to other markets". 
 

While India exports most of its farmed shrimp, it imports its broodstock from the US, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. It imported from the US broodstock worth US$10.8 million in 2015, representing 98% of Indian's broodstock imports.   

In addition, India imported $15.44 million worth of brine shrimp cysts in 2015, 97% of them from the US, which are hatched and used as live feeds for larval shrimp, as per Business World.