Indian seafood exports may show lower growth this fiscal as shrimp prices continue to remain low world over and cautious farmers go slow on production.
While prices of shrimp, which dominates the seafood export basket, are down by 20% from last year, fear of white spot disease and lower prices had forced many farmers to go for partial harvest, resulting in small-sized shrimps, which fetch lower returns compared with the fully grown ones.
Seafood exports had touched a record Rs 45,106 crore last year on the back of high prices and good production of shrimps. The shrimp production in the Country scaled a new peak of 600,000 tonnes, making India the top shrimp supplier globally.
“Following tightening of quality standards in the European Union, exporters were focusing more on the US market. The oversupply pulled the prices down,’’ said Muthukaruppan. The US is the largest buyer of Indian seafood with about 33% share.
Source:- Dailyshippingtimes.com
