Vannamei shrimp for export. (Photo: Ailesh)

Vannamei shrimp pushes exports to record high

INDIA
Tuesday, August 14, 2012, 15:20 (GMT + 9)

Vannamei shrimp is driving Indian seafood exports, which hit a record USD 3.5 billion for the period of 2011-12 -- surpassing previous records in quantity, rupee value and dollar terms. The boom has been pushed by a growing consumption of the shrimp in the US and Southeast Asian markets.

Compared with 2010-11, seafood exports saw a jump of 6.02 per cent in quantity and 28.65 per cent in rupee and 22.81 per cent in dollar terms, Hindu Business Line reports.

Shrimp are the biggest revenue earners in the Indian seafood export market, bringing in USD 1.7 billion, recording a hike of 38 per cent.

Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) Chairperson Leena Nair said the Indian vannamei took over the US market with exports surging by staggering 212 per cent in quantity and 209 per cent in value in 2011-12 (1 April 2011 - 21 March 2012), Economic Times reports.

She said all these figures must be considered in light of the ongoing recession in the international markets, debt crisis in the European Union (EU), continuing anti-dumping duty in the US, sluggish economic growth in the US and the political instability in West Asia.

Farmed shrimp exports to Southeast Asia skyrocketed too, by 222 per cent in volume and as much as 356 per cent in dollar value.

Frozen shrimp was the major export value item, making up 49.63 per cent of the total dollar earnings. In quantity terms, shrimp exports increased by nearly a quarter.

The share of vannamei shrimp in the total shrimp exports has surged from 14 to 35 per cent while the share of black tiger shrimp has declined from 82 to 61 per cent.

Indian seafood has been going for higher prices in the international market, which is evident from the 16 per cent climb in unit value of the products to USD 4.07.

Higher production of vannamei shrimp and black tiger shrimp and better realisation of major items such as shrimp, squid and cuttlefish helped MPEDA the much-improved export turnover, Nair said.

MPEDA has set a target of USD 4.5 billion for 2012-13, which will be made more possible by increasing production of L.vannamei shrimp and the infrastructure facilities for production of value-added items, she added.

By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

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