Vannamei shrimp will be leading India’s aquaculture shrimp production and seafood exports, which is expected to touch US$6bn this financial year
The US$5bn Indian seafood export industry has set a target to attain US$10bn by 2020, The New Indian Express reported.
In 2014, the main exports in the seafood basket were Vannamei shrimp, which grew to 175,071 tonnes from 91,171 tonnes the previous year. The export of the shrimp recorded a growth of 92 per cent in quantity terms and 173 per cent in dollar terms in the last financial year, according to A J Tharakan, president of Seafood Exporters Association of India.
This year, aquaculture shrimp production is likely to be 375,000 tonnes, from which the exports of processed aquaculture shrimp is expected to be 250,000 tonnes, compared to last year’s 175,000 tonnes. Compared to Vannamei, the export of farmed Black Tiger Shrimps came down from 61,177 metric tonnes to 34,133 metric tonnes.
Aquaculture shrimps have been the primary contributors to the seafood industry’s growth, contributing 47 per cent of the total exports. Shrimp exports were US$3.2bn in 2013-14, which was 64 per cent of total exports, of which aquaculture shrimp alone was worth US$2.3bn. Shrimp exports from capture fisheries contributed only 27 per cent of total exports with a value of US$900mn.
Experts said that the main reason for the quantum leap of Vannamei in India was the ease with which domestication could be done to eliminate all possible viruses; give farmers selective pathogen free (SPF) broodstock that could cater for the needs of the world markets.
