December 27, 2005

India's seafood industry still feels shock of tsunami

India's seafood industry still feels the shock of the tsunami that hit its shores in December last year. The US has also recently maintained its anti-dumping duty on Indian shrimp exports, although the tsunami has hurt India's seafood industry.

According to national president A.J. Tharakan of Seafood Exporters Association of India (Seai), domestic fish catch has fallen substantially after the tsunami, while a number of fish varieties have 'vanished'. Shrimp exports to the US have also stagnated and the seafood industry has not fully recovered from the disaster.

Tharakan said the shrimp industry accounted for 85 percent of total seafood exports. He added that it was devastated by the tsunami that broke the shrimp production chain and destroyed the industry's long-term ability to produce shrimp.

He explained that commercially valuable fish catches have declined significantly due to massive biological destruction of the seabed caused during the tidal wave.

In addition, domestic seafood processors were only willing to purchase raw materials from fishermen at a lower price. Exporters attributed this to the 10.17 percent anti-dumping duty imposed on Indian shrimp exports to the US, and the customs bond imposed on exporters for shipments there.