FNB News - About 11,34,948 MT of seafood worth $5.78 bn exported by India in ’16-17

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ANALYSIS

About 11,34,948 MT of seafood worth $5.78 bn exported by India in ’16-17

Friday, 09 June, 2017, 08 : 00 AM [IST]

Our Bureau, Mumbai

Riding on a robust demand for its frozen shrimp and frozen fish in international markets, India exported 11,34,948 metric ton (MT)of seafood worth an all time high of $5.78 billion (Rs 37, 870.90 crore) in 2016-17 as against 9,45,892 ton and $4.69 billion (Rs 30,420.83 crore) the previous year.

While the United States and Southeast Asia continued to be the major importers, the demand from the European Union (EU) grew substantially during the period.

Frozen shrimp maintained its position as the top item of export, accounting for 38.28 per cent in quantity and 64.50 per cent of the total earnings in dollar terms. Shrimp exports increased by 16.21 per cent in terms of quantity and 20.33 per cent in dollar terms.

Frozen fish was the second largest export item, accounting for a share of 26.15 per cent in quantity and 11.64 per cent in dollar earnings, registering a growth of 26.92 per cent in terms of value.

The United States imported 1,88,617 MT of Indian seafood, accounting for 29.98 per cent in terms of dollar. Exports to that country registered a growth of 22.72 per cent, 33 per cent and 29.82 per cent in terms of quantity, value in rupees and dollars, respectively.

Southeast Asia remained the second largest destination of India’s marine products, with a share of 29.91 per cent in dollar terms, followed by the EU (17.98 per cent), Japan (6.83 per cent), the Middle-East (4.78 per cent), China (3.50 per cent) and other countries (7.03 per cent).

Overall, exports to Southeast Asia increased by 47.41 per cent in quantity, 52.84 per cent in rupee value and 49.90 per cent in dollar earnings.

“Increased production of L Vannamei, diversification of aquaculture species, sustained measures to ensure quality, and increase in infrastructure facilities for production of value-added products were largely responsible for India’s positive growth in exports of seafood,” said commerce and industry minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The overall export of shrimp in 2016-17 was pegged at 4,34,484 MT and was worth $3,726.36 million.

The United States was the largest import market for frozen shrimp (1,65,827 MT), followed by the EU (77,178 MT), Southeast Asia (1,05,763 MT), Japan (31,284 MT), the Middle-East (19,554 MT), China (7818 MT) and other countries (27,063 MT).

The export of Vannamei shrimp, a major seafood delicacy, improved from 2,56,699 MT to 3,29,766 MT in 2016-17, registering a growth of 28.46 per cent in quantity.

In value terms, 49.55 per cent of total Vannamei shrimp was exported to the United States, followed by 23.28 per cent to Southeast Asian countries, 13.17 per cent to the EU, 4.53 per cent to Japan, 3.02 per cent to the Middle-East and 1.35 per cent to China.

Japan was the major market for Black Tiger shrimp, with a share of 43.84 per cent in terms of value, followed by the United States (23.44) and Southeast Asia (11.33).

Frozen shrimp continued to be the principal export item to the United States, with a share of 94.77 per cent in dollar value, while Vannamei shrimp to that country showed an increase of 25.60 per cent in quantity and 31.75 per cent in dollar terms.

Vietnam, with a share of 76.57 per cent in dollar value, was the major Southeast Asian market for Indian marine products, followed by Thailand (12.93 per cent), Taiwan (3.88 per cent), Malaysia (2.60 per cent), Singapore (2.21 per cent), South Korea (1.50 per cent) and other countries (0.30 per cent).

Vietnam alone imported 3,18,171 MT of Indian seafood, the quantity being much more than that of any other individual market, including the United States, Japan or China.

The EU continued to be the third largest destination for Indian marine products, with a share of 16.73 per cent in quantity.

Frozen shrimp was the major item of exports, accounting for 40.66 per cent in quantity and 55.15 per cent in dollar earnings out of the total exports to the EU. Exports of Vannamei shrimp to the EU improved by 9.76 per cent in quantity and 11.40 per cent in dollar value.

Japan, the fourth largest destination for Indian seafood, accounted for 6.83 per cent in earnings and 6.08 per cent in quantity terms.

Frozen shrimp continued to be the major item of exports to Japan, with a share of 45.31 per cent in quantity and 77.29 per cent in value out of the total exports to that country.

Besides frozen shrimp and frozen fish, India’s other major seafood product was frozen squid, which recorded a growth of 21.50 per cent, 59.44 per cent and 57 per cent in terms of quantity, rupee value and dollar earnings, respectively.

Export of frozen cuttlefish showed a decline in quantity terms, but increased in the rupee value and dollar terms by 18.85 per cent and 16.95 per cent, respectively.

Dried items registered a growth of 40.98 per cent, 20.14 per cent and 79.05 per cent in terms of quantity, rupee value and dollar terms, respectively.

Vizag, Kochi, Kolkata, Pipavav and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) were the major ports that handled the marine cargo in 2016-17. Exports improved from Vizag, Kochi, Kolkata, Pipavav, JNPT, Krishnapatanam and Tuticorin as compared to 2015-16.

Vizag port exported 1,59,973 ton of marine cargo worth Rs 9,294.31 crore ($1,401.94 million) in 2016-17, as compared to 1,28,718 ton worth Rs 7,161 crore ($1,105.76 million) in 2015-16.

It was followed by Kochi (1,55,989 ton, Rs 4,447.05 crore), Kolkata (1,04,668 ton, Rs 4,451.67 crore), Pipavav (2,32,391 ton, Rs 4,217.45 crore), JNPT (1,49,914 ton, Rs 4,084.96 crore), Krishnapatnam (62,049 ton, Rs 3,701.63 crore), Tuticorin (42,026 ton, Rs 2,220.52 crore) and Chennai (37,305 ton, 1,693.87 crore).