Rita, Katrina impact to buoy marine exports

The country's marine products export to the European Union and the US are expected to increase in the wake of the devastation spread over the US Gulf coastline by hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

The export share of marine products to the EU is expected to touch 30 per cent this year, feel exporters. Despite the post-tsunami recovery work progressing across the Indian coastal belt, the fish catch quantity is surging high this year too.

In 2004-05, EU has emerged as the largest market for Indian marine products. Its share has increased to 25.52 per cent from 23.37 per cent in quantity. In rupee terms, the export rose to Rs 6646.69 crore from Rs 6091.95 crore last year, according to the data of Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA).

US was the second largest market in value terms. It had a share of 10.85 per cent and 23.41 per cent in volume and rupee terms, respectively. There was, however, a slight decline in exports to the US last year. The dip was mainly owing to the anti-dumping duty imposed on frozen shrimps imports from India.

The export of marine products had grown to greater proportion as one of the important item of India's export. Marine product exports in 2004-05 was worth Rs 6,646.69 crore, accounting for 9.11 per cent increase over the previous year.

Marine products account for almost 4 per cent of the country's total export income. "We can't predict this year's exports or total fish catch quantity. One thing is sure that both income generating ends are growing marginally every year," said G. Mohan Kumar, chairman, MPEDA.

Exports to Japan and China too have started showing a positive growth, both in terms of quantity and value. Japan became the third largest importer of marine products from India.

Export to Middle East countries, South East Asia, Canada, Australia, Newzeland, Turkey, Mexico, Maldives Island, Croatia, Norway and Bulgaria also had showed an upsurge, where as export to Switzerland, Poland, Lithuania, Guinea, Libya, Egypt and Bangladesh are in declining trend.

India- with a long coast line of 8129 Kms, two million square km of Exclusive Economic Zone and 1.2 million hector of brackish water bodies- is at third position in fish catch quantity across the world.

China, US, Japan, India, Russian federation, Indonesia and Chile are the major fish producing countries. Currently, India's total annual fish production is 5.65 million tonne (Inland-2.8 million tonne and Marine-2.83 million tonne). But India has an estimated fishery potential of about 8.4 million tonne (Inland 4.50 and marine 3.90 million tonne).