Indian Seafood industry and post WTO – A Policy Outlook

India plays a major role in the global seafood export among the Asian countries. The marine products exports from India reached 8 lakh tonnes worth 2.8 billion US $ in 2010-11 and registered an impressive double digit growth rate since 2007-08. India exports frozen shrimp, squids and finfish in dried, live and chilled forms to different destinations. With the current demand pattern of major seafood markets and with modern machinery for freezing and processing, several exporting firms have started development and exports of processed value added products. Among the different items exported, frozen shrimp and frozen fin fish accounted for about 75 per cent of the total volume of sea food exports from India. Even though frozen shrimp contributed only 19.24 per cent of the total volume of seafood exports, its share in the total value was 41.62 per cent in 2010-11. Frozen fish occupies prime position in terms of quantity, however its share in the total value is only 20.38 per cent showing low unit value realization ( Rs. 84.16 per kg) (MPEDA, 2011). The seafood export trade performed well in the past decades amidst stringent trade liberalization measures and economic recession which affected many Indian buyer countries. In India storage, processing and transport, grading and quality control facilities are mostly oriented towards the export market even though more than 80 per cent of the fish production is channeled in the domestic markets. Seafood trade influences the domestic markets significantly by way of affecting the supply -demand situation of many high valued fishes, competition for small scale traders and rise in prices in the domestic market