Introduction
India is the third-largest fish and aquaculture-producing country. It accounts for 8% of the total global fish production. The industry employs more than 28 million people in India.
The marine resources of India constitute a coastline of 8,118 km, an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 2 million sq. km, and a continental shelf area of 0.53 sq. km. The inland resources include 0.27 million km of rivers and canals, 2.36 million hectares of ponds and tanks, 3.54 million hectares of reservoirs, and 1.2 million hectares of floodplain lakes.
The national fish production for FY24 increased to 184.02 lakh tons from 95.79 lakh tons (FY14) and 63.99 lakh tons (FY04) registering an increase of 88.23 lakh tons in 10 years (FY14 to FY24) as compared to an increase of 31.80 lakh tons (FY04 to FY14). A tremendous increase of 77.71 lakh tons was achieved in Inland and Aquaculture fish production from FY14 to FY24 as against the 26.78 lakh tons achieved from FY04 to FY14.
In FY24, India's total marine and inland fish production stood at 18.4 Million Metric Tons (MMT), which includes 12.12 MMT and 4.12 MMT from the inland and marine sectors, respectively. The fisheries sector plays a crucial role in the national economy and is one of the key contributors to the country's foreign exchange earnings. In 2020-21, 66% of the Marine Fisheries and 51% of the Inland Fisheries potential were harnessed. The overall production of marine products in India has been growing consistently for the last ten years.
India mainly has eight major fish-producing states: Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Andhra Pradesh is the largest producer of marine products with FY23 production at 5.1 million MT.
Export Trend
In FY24, the country exported marine products of quantity 17.8 million tons. The value of exports for the same year was US$ 7.38 billion.
India mainly exports frozen shrimps, fish, cuttlefish, squids, dried items, and live and chilled items. Out of these, frozen shrimp is the largest exported marine product contributing to more than 40% of the total quantity and about 66.12% of the total export value.
In the period FY24, frozen fish, cuttlefish, and squid accounted for 21.42%, 3.05%, and 5.25% of the total export value of marine products, respectively. This was a change from the previous period, FY23, where they represented 21.23%, 3.16%, and 5.49% of the total quantity exported.
During FY24 the country exported marine products worth US$ 7.38 billion, compared to US$ 8.09 billion for the same period last year. In FY25 (April-January) the country exported marine products worth US$ 6.21 billion)
Marine exports from India are expected to reach US$ 14 billion by 2025. The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) has already proposed a roadmap to achieve this target, which constitutes necessary steps to enhance production and promote seafood.
Major Export Markets
India exports fish and fish products primarily to the following regions - the USA, China, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, and Belgium.
In FY25 (April-December), with an import of US$ 2,249.68 million and a share of 36.22% in terms of dollar value, the USA remained the largest importer of Indian seafood both in terms of value and volume. China stood in second position with an 17.09% share in terms of value, followed by the Japan 5.57%, Vietnam 4.96%, Thailand 4.37%, Belgium 2.94%.
The EU remained India's third-largest export market for seafood, with frozen shrimp continuing to grow in both quantity and value, respectively, by 29.11% and 37.09%.
Government Initiatives
The Union Budget 2025-26 proposed the highest ever total annual budgetary support of Rs. 2,703.67 crores for the fisheries sector.
Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY)
The PMMSY was introduced in 2020 with an earmarked investment of US$ 2.53 billion (Rs. 20,050 crore), to increase the productivity, production capacity, and area under cultivation and to increase the exports of marine products in India. The Central Government's share in PMMSY is US$ 1.12 billion (Rs. 9,407 crore), the State's share is US$ 617 million (Rs. 4,880 crore), and the beneficiaries' share is US$ 729 million (Rs. 5,763 crore). The objective of the scheme is to increase fish production to 22 million MT by 2024-25, enhance aquaculture productivity to 5 tons per hectare and increase the GVA contribution of the fisheries sector to 9% by 2024-25.
Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF)
In 2018-19, the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying formed a fund called the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (FIDF) to meet the infrastructure requirement of the fisheries sector. The total fund size is US$ 951 million (Rs. 7,522.48 crore). The objective of the fund is to provide concessional finance to eligible entities like State Governments/Union Territories and State entities for developing the identified fisheries infrastructure through loaning entities namely - National Cooperatives Development Corporation (NCDC), National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), and all scheduled banks.
Government Body
The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA)
The MPEDA was formed in 1972 for the development of the seafood industry in India and to realize its full export potential. The focus of MPEDA is on market promotion, capturing fisheries, research and development, quality control, infrastructure processing and value addition. The authority also advises the central government to set new standards for fishing vessels, storage premises, processing plants and conveyances.
Department of Fisheries (DoF)
The DoF was formed in 2019 by dividing the fisheries division from the now known as the Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries. The department's roles are developing the fish industry, promoting fisheries and the welfare of fishermen, statistics, regulations, and carrying out surveys. The department is responsible for matters relating to the formulation of policy and schemes relating to the development of inland, marine, and coastal fisheries and various fishery Institutes.
RELATED SITES
MPEDA House, P.B.No.4272, Panampilly Avenue,
Panampilly Nagar P.O.,
Kochi - 682 036
Kerala
India
Tel.:+91-484-2311901
Fax:+91-484-2313361
Email: Email:ho@mpeda.gov.in
Website: https://mpeda.gov.in
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