New Delhi [India], June 9 (ANI): A two-day National Workshop on Seafood Exports held in Visakhapatnam focused on measures to enhance India's seafood exports through value addition, sustainability, improved market access, innovation and infrastructure development.

The workshop, organised by the Department of Commerce in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries and the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) on June 5-6, brought together policymakers, industry representatives, exporters, processors, researchers, startups and aquaculture farmers to deliberate on strengthening the seafood export ecosystem.

Addressing the inaugural session, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said India's marine products exports have increased by nearly 70 per cent in value terms over the last decade and noted that the country currently accounts for around 4 per cent of global seafood trade. He called upon stakeholders to work collectively towards achieving seafood exports of USD 30 billion within the next five years through value addition, branding, quality enhancement, sustainability and diversification of export markets.

Goyal also stressed the need to increase the share of value-added seafood products, including ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook offerings, and encouraged exporters to leverage market access opportunities arising from India's recently concluded Free Trade Agreements covering 38 countries.

Union Minister of Food Processing Industries Chirag Paswan highlighted the potential for value addition in the seafood sector and stressed the need to move from 'volume to value' and 'produce to product' through greater focus on processing, branding, technology adoption and market diversification.

Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh said fish production in India increased from 95.8 lakh tonnes in 2012-13 to nearly 198 lakh tonnes in 2024-25. He added that India's seafood exports reached approximately Rs 73,890 crore (USD 8.46 billion), with frozen shrimp continuing to be the country's leading seafood export item.

During interactive and technical sessions, stakeholders discussed challenges related to disease management, rising input costs, logistics, cold-chain development, certification, traceability and sustainability standards. Discussions also focused on export promotion, deep-sea fisheries, diversification of export opportunities and the potential for a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) framework for the seafood sector.

The workshop concluded with a shared commitment to strengthen sustainability, traceability, value addition, export infrastructure and market access to enhance India's global competitiveness in seafood exports. (ANI)