September 27, 2005

India's seafood industry expects 30 percent fall in 2005-06 exports
 

The Seafood Exporters Association of India said the country's seafood exports were expected to fall by 30 percent to US$1.03 billion, for the current fiscal year that ends in March 2006.

The association attributed this mainly to a decline in shrimp sales following last year's tsunami and US anti-dumping tariffs.

Shrimp business were devastated by the tsunami which destroyed about 88,000 fishing boats and more than 14,000 hectares of shrimp farms in southern India, the association said.

Although holiday season demands came at this time of the year, Indian exporters were unable to profit from it. US buyers had also turned to alternative suppliers while India was unable to meet demand from other countries, the association added.

While the US considered lifting punitive tariffs on tsunami hit countries, its decision was not expected before the end of October, when the peak demand season was over, according to the association.

Indian seafood exports reportedly totalled US$1.47 billion during the previous fiscal year.