India’s seafood industry can offset US tariff impact: MPEDA chief

Govt’s efforts for new markets should fetch results, says D.V. Swamy

Kochi / August 23, 2025

Kochi, Aug 23: India’s seafood industry has the potential to tap into alternative markets to offset the anticipated impact from the escalation of tariffs by the United States on a range of Indian goods, Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) Chairman Shri D.V. Swamy said today.

Noting that the country’s marine products sector has proven its capacity to weather several crises, he pointed out that the central government has identified Russia, the UK, European Union, Norway, Switzerland, Middle East and South Korea among a new set of focal countries for export of seafood.

“Let’s not call it an obstacle; it’s actually an opportunity. We learn from challenges, and improve with each of them,” Shri Swamy told at a press conference on the eve of the 53rd anniversary of MPEDA, which is an autonomous body under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry entrusted with export promotion of marine products.

The sector has been “adaptive” all through its history of more than half a century, the Chairman pointed out, stressing the need for diversification of seafood products. Ecuador is one country that might give India added competition in the new age, he said.

The US and China are currently the major importers of India’s seafood, with America being the largest market of frozen shrimps (3,11,948 metric tonnes) and the latter standing next (1,36,164 MT). Overall, in 2024-25, India shipped 16,98,170 metric tonnes of seafood worth Rs 62,408.45 crore (US$ 7.45 billion), with frozen shrimp sustaining its prominence as the top exported item in terms of quantity and value.

Recalling that India did succeed in overcoming in this decade the “black tiger shrimp crisis” that was marked by a dramatic decline of the farmed seafood at the dawn of this century, Shri Swamy underscored the need for diversification of marine products. Today, Black Tiger and scampi are the other growing varieties of seafood for exports.

India shipped 16,98,170 metric tonnes of seafood worth Rs 62,408.45 crore (US$ 7.45 billion) during 2024-25, with frozen shrimp sustaining its prominence as the top exported item in terms of quantity and value amid the USA and China turning out to be the major importers of the country’s seafood.

As for the major seafood items India is exporting, Sri Swamy said, after frozen shrimp (44%) came frozen fish (20%), followed by frozen squid, frozen cuttlefish, chilled items and live items. A state-wise breakup showed Andhra Pradesh topping the 2024-25 list with an export value of US$ 2,536.77 million, followed by Tamil Nadu (US$ 840.11 million) and Kerala (US$ 829.42 million). West Bengal (US$ 518.71 million), Gujarat (US$ 702.75 million) and Telangana (US$ 73.44 million) stood fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.

MPEDA’s overseas participation has increased in the past eleven years, as it had an impressive presence in international fairs at the USA, Spain, Germany, China, Japan, Korea, Russia and Dubai. “We organised 92 buyer-seller meets the past five years, besides sending a dozen exporters’ delegations to other countries,” he added.

As for the percentage of share of the country’s ports in exports, Visakhapatnam stood on top (31.52%), followed by Navi Mumbai’s JNPT (10.81%) and Kochi (9.70%). Next in the line were Chennai (7.75%) and Kolkata (7.49%).

The annual flagship event, Seafood Bharat Expo, will next be held in Chennai from July 1 to 3 in 2026. This year’s edition, also hosted in the Tamil Nadu capital and on the same dates, featured 116 stalls from 70 exhibitors besides 2,700 delegates and 1,063 visitors.

The country’s west coast had a range of natural resources and working culture that has organically been promoting diversity, Shri Swamy said. Kochi, with its age-old trading history and an increasingly evolving ecosystem that promotes marine products, has had a symbiotic relationship with MPEDA’s growth, he added.

The Kochi-headquartered MPEDA is primarily mandated to promote the marine products

industry, by focusing on increasing exports and ensuring the quality as well as sustainability of the seafood produced in India.

Ends