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India is the seventh largest seafood exporter in the world, with Andhra Pradesh being the leader among the States, but the focus in future should be on export of value-added marine products, according to Union Minister of State for Commerce (independent charge) Nirmala Seetharaman.
She was speaking here in the port stadium after inaugurating the 20th India International Seafood Show (IISS-2016), organised by the Marine Products Export Development Authority and the Seafood Exporters' Association of India. She said the growth of the industry was self-motivated, especially in Andhra Pradesh, but the emphasis should be on value-addition. "I call upon the foreign companies, as well as the Indian companies, to have a healthy interaction during the show and draw up plans to invest in the sector with the objective in mind. The FDI norms had been eased for the purpose," she said.
She said the MPEDA was the main export promotion agency at the national level, but "now we feed the need to have a state-level agency for the development of aquaculture and fisheries and such agencies will be set up in all the maritime states."
She said certain marine products had been included in the Merchandise Export Incentive Scheme and the exporters should avail themselves of the benefit. She praised AP for "the great strides made in the sector" and urged other states to emulate the State.
Chief Minister N. Chadrababu Naidu promised all help and incentives to the industry and urged both foreign companies as well as Indian companies to invest in the State. He spoke at length of the steps taken by the State Government such as setting up of diagnostic labs and other facilities to promote aqua exports.
V. Padmanabham, President of the Seafood Exporters' Association of India, pleaded for the status of agriculture to aquaculture to benefit the aqua farmers and to facilitate greater flow of funds into the sector, a demand which was echoed by several others including K. Haribabu, the member of Parliament from Visakhapatnam. He also wanted representation to exporters on the board of the MPEDA.
Union Minister for Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu also spoke.
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