Coronavirus shadow overseafood exports to China

MPEDA Chairman, however says the impact is minimal

31 Jan 2020, 17:33 by Rajulapudi SrinivasVIJAYAWADA

The dreaded coronavirus (nCoV) has started showing its impact on the seafood trade in the international market. Marine exports to China in which some thousands of people were tested positive have fallen.

Andhra Pradesh is the largest seafood-producing State with 34 % of the total production of 13.92 lakh tonnes, followed by Kerala (12%), Tamil Nadu (11%) and Gujarat (10%). A.P. is producing shrimp in about 51,776 hectares and is making efforts to increase the potential area.

Major consumers

Major consumers of marine products from India are Japan, the U.S., the European Union, China, South East Asia and the Middle East. Products such as frozen shrimp, frozen fin fish, cuttle fish, squid, dried and live items worth more than ₹46,000 crore have been exported through major ports such as Chennai, Kochi, JNP, Visakhapatnam Mumbai, Kakinada, and Krishnapatnam in the last two years.

“China is a major consumer after Japan and the U.S. Exports to China have come down slightly due to the coronavirus,” said an aqua farmer.

“There is huge demand for Indian shrimp and other products in China, but the virus is likely to have an impact on exports and the price of marine products in the international market,” said V. Satyanarayana, a farmer of West Godavari district.

Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA Chairman K.S. Srinivas told The Hindu on Friday said there was no alert from any country on seafood exports and shrimp and live items were being exported to China and other countries.

“The impact of coronavirus on seafood exports is minimal. There is no need for farmers or exporters to panic. The demand for shrimp and other varieties remains unchanged at the global level,” Mr. Srinivas said.

“We are exporting shrimp and fish from all major ports across the country. Exporters need not fear the spread of virus as the produce is being exported through containers, and India is not importing any product,” the MPEDA Chairman said.