New Delhi, Dec 12 – According to a government statement, India’s seafood exports climbed almost 14 % to about $4.79 billion in the April‑October 2025 window, up from roughly $4.21 billion in the same period a year earlier. During the same five‑year span, both the volume and dollar value of shrimp shipped to the United States remained strong.
Nonetheless, shipments of frozen shrimp to the US moderated over that period. To counter the slowdown, the government has stepped up market‑diversification activities, organising buyer‑seller meets among other efforts, said Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. Provisional data shows frozen shrimp exports to the US fell to 55,282 tonnes valued at $512.81 million in August‑October 2025, down from 83,375 tonnes worth $673.98 million in the corresponding period of 2024.
MPEDA has attended major international seafood fairs across Asia and Europe, while reverse buyer‑seller meetings held in Chennai and New Delhi in 2025 facilitated more than 100 buyer‑exporter interactions. The agency is also running sensitisation programmes on various FTAs to help exporters tap new opportunities. The Department of Commerce is rapidly advancing free‑trade agreement talks, including with the European Union to address market‑access issues, and the Department of Fisheries has partnered with several APAC countries to strengthen quality assurance, biosecurity, cold‑chain improvements, and R&D collaboration, the minister added.
Support for shrimp farmers includes capacity‑building workshops, awareness campaigns, farm monitoring and aquaculture technician training. MPEDA also introduced the domestication of tiger shrimp in Visakhapatnam, producing SPF tiger shrimp broodstock derived from Indian strains. In addition, the ‘SHAPHARI Certification’ of farms and hatcheries assures that products are antibiotic‑free and disease‑free, produced through Best Management Practices.
An Advanced Technological Transformation in Aquaculture scheme helps farmers boost shrimp production using bio‑secured circular tanks and offers financial assistance covering 50 % to 75 % of the capital cost. GST rates on more than 20 fisheries and aquaculture‑related items—including farm equipment, feed ingredients, water conditioners, and fishing nets—have recently been cut from 12 %–18 % to just 5 % to lower costs and enhance competitiveness.
aar/na
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