India targets $30 billion seafood exports in five years

A senior government minister has called for a dramatic expansion of India's seafood exports, setting a target of $30 billion over the next five years. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal announced the goal at a national workshop on seafood exports held in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on June 5 and 6. The ambitious target represents a significant increase from the current export level of approximately $8.5 billion recorded in the 2025-26 fiscal year.

The workshop, jointly organized by the Union Commerce and Fisheries Ministries, brought together senior officials, including Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and several Union ministers, along with exporters and industry stakeholders. The gathering focused on strategies to accelerate growth in the sector, which recently achieved record exports of Rs 73,890.46 crore ($8.45 billion) on a volume of 19.72 lakh metric tonnes.

Minister Goyal noted that India's fisheries exports have grown by 70 percent since the 2013-14 fiscal year, when they stood at $5 billion. He contrasted this with global trade in fisheries, which he said grew at a slower rate over the same period. Officials stated that the new target could...