India's Seafood Export Gets Boost

India’s Seafood Exports Surge to $4.87 Billion—But Is the Growth Sustainable?

By October 2025, India’s seafood exports had crossed $4.87 billion during the first seven months of FY 2025-26, marking a 16% increase in value compared to the same period last year. This apparent success, underpinned by market diversification and government support, raises critical questions about long-term sustainability and structural bottlenecks in the sector.

While exports to traditional markets like the United States dipped by 4% in value and 11% in volume, newer markets such as Vietnam, Belgium, and China registered sharp growth. Shrimp exports, undisputedly the crown jewel of India’s marine sector, continued to dominate the export basket and contributed significantly to the revenue surge. However, beneath these headline numbers lie deeper enabling factors—and enduring challenges—that merit closer scrutiny.

The Institutional Framework Driving India’s Seafood Trade

India’s seafood export trajectory leans heavily on institutional interventions, particularly the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY). Launched in 2020 with a budget allocation of ₹20,000 crore for a five-year period, this scheme aims to develop fisheries infrastructure through investments in harbours, cold chains, processing units, and aquaculture facilities. Coastal states like Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, and Kerala—key shrimp farming hubs—have been notable beneficiaries of PMMSY.

These efforts are complemented by international trade facilitation mechanisms overseen by bodies like the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), which focuses on quality standardisation, traceability, and compliance with sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) norms mandated by importing nations.

• India is the second-largest producer of fish globally, contributing over 14 million metric tons annually, with aquaculture accounting for approximately 60%.
• Export diversification has reduced dependency on the US, which still remains India’s largest market despite facing tariff and demand-related challenges.
• Shrimp, especially Penaeus vannamei, constitutes nearly 70% of India’s seafood exports.

Beyond Numbers: Policy Depth and Hidden Gaps

The role of aquaculture expansion in driving seafood exports cannot be overstated. Coastal states, particularly Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, have made significant strides in shrimp farming, aided by hatcheries, better feed management, and disease control protocols. India’s pivot from capture fisheries to culture fisheries aligns well with its Blue Economy vision, which aims to link sustainability with growth.

However, the optimism around infrastructure and export-led growth belies two critical limitations. First, value addition remains an Achilles’ heel. Much of India’s seafood is exported semi-processed or raw, forfeiting higher margins typically associated with ready-to-eat or packaged products. This lack of processing infrastructure hampers profitability.

Second, compliance with quality standards in EU countries, particularly Germany and Belgium—where stringent SPS norms govern seafood imports—poses a recurring challenge. A 2024 report by MPEDA highlighted that 19% of consignments faced rejections due to microbial or antibiotic residue issues. For a sector aspiring to expand into high-margin diversified markets, this is a serious drawback.

Structural Tensions: The Balance Between Growth and Sustainability

Despite government rhetoric on sustainable aquaculture, resource depletion remains a pressing concern. Large-scale overfishing has led to habitat degradation in several fishing zones, while climate change poses unpredictable risks for marine biodiversity. A 2019 NITI Aayog report observed that nearly 30% of coastal ecosystems are critically degraded—an alarming statistic for a country claiming to champion the Blue Economy.

Moreover, logistical bottlenecks such as inadequate cold chains and weak port connectivity compound the situation. While PMMSY allocates funds for infrastructure development, actual implementation reveals uneven progress across states. Maharashtra and Gujarat, for instance, lag far behind Andhra Pradesh in aquaculture output due to fragmented policies and bureaucratic inefficiencies.

Inter-ministerial coordination further complicates policy coherence. The Ministries of Commerce, Fisheries, and Environment must work in tandem to strike a balance between export ambitions and ecological safeguards—a challenge compounded by India's often siloed governance structures.

What India Can Learn from Vietnam’s Playbook

Vietnam, another major player in seafood exports, offers a contrasting model for India to consider. Between 2016 and 2022, Vietnam invested heavily in value-added processing, enabling it to export pre-packaged shrimp products directly to European and US retail markets. By encouraging private-sector participation and incentivising technology adoption in processing units, Vietnam not only expanded its export value but mitigated food safety compliance risks.

India’s seafood exports, by comparison, display a conspicuous scarcity of packaging innovation and private-sector infrastructure investments. Vietnam also benefits from robust trade agreements, including the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, which India lacks. The differential tariff structures illustrate how institutional agreements can impact competitiveness.

Building a Resilient Seafood Economy

For India’s marine exports to truly thrive, success must be measured beyond dollar figures. Increased funding for modern processing facilities, stringent quality monitoring mechanisms, and proactive diversification into processed products must lead the agenda. Furthermore, institutional frameworks should focus on climate adaptation in fishing practices, given the increasing vulnerability of coastal ecosystems.

Much depends on state-level implementation under PMMSY, where infrastructural gaps can be addressed with greater accountability mechanisms. India’s Blue Economy vision must pivot from rhetoric toward inclusive, sustainable resource usage that puts long-term ecological conservation on par with immediate monetary gains.

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