Ocean
Stars
Dr
J Bojan examines the portfolio of value-added seafood items exported
from India, and asserts that the industry should diversify into product
groups other than shrimps
The
progress of value-added marine products exports from India has been
at an exponential rate during the past decade. India exported value-added
seafood to the tune of 31,322 MT (8.28 per cent) and Rs 455.03 crore
(11.04 per cent) in volume in 1996-97. There was a shortfall in the
years 1997-98 and 1998-99 compared to the year 1996-97, but from 1999-2000
onwards the chart shows an upward trend. In 2002-03, India exported
77,200 MT (16.52 per cent) and Rs 1,167.95 crore (16.97 per cent) in
volume of value-added seafood worth Rs 1,089 crore.
The main value-added items exported from India are fish fillets, fish
steaks, frozen whole cooked lobsters, frozen shrimps {peeled undeveined
tail on and round, peeled deveined (PD) and cooked PD tail on, peeled
and cooked}, cuttlefish fillets, rings, IQF (individually quick frozen)
squid fillets, IQF rings, tentacles, frozen crabstick, surimi and seafood
mix.
It is interesting to note that while the production and consumption
of marine products in developed countries is stagnating, the global
fish consumption has doubled since 1970s. The rising population in the
developing countries and their purchase power are the major reasons
for the increase in consumption of fish.
The fish consumption in China has increased from 4.9 million MT during
1973 to 33.2 million MT during 1997, which reflects an annual growth
rate of 11.8 per cent while India’s corresponding figures were
1.8 million MT in 1973 and 4.4 million MT in 1997, which reflects an
annual growth rate of 4.3 per cent. However, the per capita consumption
of fish in developed countries is about double that of developing countries
at 28 kg per year. The per capita consumption of seafood in Japan is
over 60 kg per year.
The main items of seafood exported from India are shrimps, cephalopods,
and other fish varieties exported in various product forms like dried,
chilled and live. But majority of the products are exported in the conventional
block frozen form. The demand for valueadded seafood in different importing
countries varies from product to product. For example, shrimp-based
products have a huge market in Japan, especially for nobashi (stretched
shrimp), sushi, easy peel, peeled tail, pulled vein, and breaded shrimp.
Though India is capable of producing these products, the Japanese importers
are shipping the raw material, sourced from India, directly to Thailand
or Vietnam where it is processed to various value-added products and
then exported back to Japan.
In spite of a heavy demand for ready to eat/ready to cook products in
the consumer markets, India is yet to make a substantial contribution
in the export of value-added seafood. Realising this, the Marine Products
Export Development Authority (Mpeda) is making a suitable marketing
plan to penetrate into the global consumer sector by undertaking programmes
to remove the negative perception of Indian seafood products.
A number of seafood processing units have invested more than Rs 1 crore
each for upgrading their facilities and as a result have obtained approval
of the European Commission for exports to EU. Around 200 units have
also upgraded to the national standards over the last 2-3 years.
....CONTD
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