Seafood exports are yet to gain from the weakening of the Indian Rupee due to competition from cheaper sources and a fall in US imports. Figures for the month of April reveal that export continues to remain weak in terms of both value and volume. Value has declined by 8.5% and volume by 11.5% for the month of April 2008 as compared April 2007 figures. The provisional figures released by the state-run Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) states that India exported 34,687 tonne of seafood valued at Rs 447.43 crore ( $ 112.14 million) for April 2008 as against 39,199 tonne valued at Rs 488.69 crore ( $ 112.46 million) in April 2007.
The performance of FY 2007-08 was disappointing for India as total revenue from seafood exports is seen shorter by Rs 900 crore when compared to the performance of the previous fiscal, according to provisional estimates of MPEDA. When compared to the previous fiscal, revenue has fallen by 10% and volume by 13%.
The dollar revenue has increased nominally to $1.86 billion from $ 1.85 billion in the previous fiscal. Competition from cheaper vannamei shrimps, lesser availability of cuttle fish and appreciating rupee has seen Indian exports lose ground, sources said. Drop in unit realization coupled with increasing production cost put exporters at a disadvantage when compared to other sources.