India exported 1,781,602 metric tonnes of seafood worth Rs 60,523.89 crore ($7.38 billion) during the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). This is India's highest ever seafood shipment, with most of it destined for the United States, European Union, and United Kingdom markets.
Shri D V Swamy IAS, Chairman, Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) said, “India has recorded its highest ever exports in terms of volume by exporting 1,781,602 metric tonnes of seafood worth $7.38 billion despite several challenges in its key export markets like the US, EU and the UK.
This was over 40 per cent of the total export volume and 66.12 per cent of the total value in dollar terms. During FY24, total seafood exports grew by 2.67 per cent in volume terms, the release said. Frozen fish became the second most exported item, accounting for 21.42 per cent in volume terms. These fetched a total of $671.17 million.
Fish and shrimp-food and feed-non-food dry items were third in the export list with about 16 per cent of the total volume, while frozen squid was the fourth largest export item. Frozen cuttlefish, lobster and octopus are the other items in India's seafood export basket. US is the major importer of Indian seafood In terms of market share, the US remained the leading market, importing Indian seafood worth about $2,549.15 million.
Frozen shrimp remained the main item exported to the US, accounting for 91.90 per cent share in US dollar terms. Excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan, China emerged as the second largest seafood export destination. It imported seafood worth $1,384.89 million, accounting for 25.33 per cent share in terms of volume. Japan is the third largest importer of Indian seafood, followed by Vietnam.