Indian Economy News

MPEDA to Organise Second National Seafood Skill Olympiad During Seafood Expo Bharat 2026

India is strengthening its seafood processing ecosystem through the second National Seafood Skill Olympiad, to be organised by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry from July 1-3, 2026, during Seafood Expo Bharat (SEB) 2026. The initiative aims to promote innovation, improve quality standards and recognise skilled professionals engaged in seafood processing while supporting greater value addition in marine exports. Ahead of the event, MPEDA conducted 50 Seafood Value Addition Training Programmes that trained over 2,500 seafood processing professionals in preparing export-oriented products such as breaded squid rings, Nobashi shrimp, breaded butterfly shrimp, cooked Peeled, Deveined, Tail-On (PDTO) shrimp, marinated shrimp skewers and fish fillets. Participants advanced through preliminary, state and regional competitions, with the top 10 finalists qualifying for the national finale. Winners will receive cash prizes of Rs. 1,00,000 (US$ 1,068), Rs. 75,000 (US$ 793), Rs. 50,000 (US$ 528) and Rs. 25,000 (US$ 264), along with medals and certificates.

Seafood Expo Bharat 2026 will feature more than 325 exhibition stalls and is expected to attract nearly 5,000 domestic and international stakeholders for business meetings, technical sessions and industry networking. The Skill Olympiad Pavilion will showcase award-winning value-added seafood products through live demonstrations and tasting sessions. India's seafood exports reached a record Rs. 74,267.05 crore (US$ 8.45 billion) in 2025-26, supported by 670 approved seafood processing units with a combined processing capacity exceeding 40,000 metric tonnes per day. Among these, 127 units manufacture value-added seafood products, contributing nearly 10% of total seafood exports. Through sustained investments in workforce development, processing infrastructure and product innovation, MPEDA aims to increase the share of value-added seafood products to 25% of total seafood exports by 2030, further strengthening India's position as a trusted global seafood supplier.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.