The Union Budget of India for 2023 has announced the launch of a programme in continuation of the Prime Minister’s Matsya Sampada Yojana to boost seafood business. An amount of ₹6,000 crore has been earmarked for the sector.
Kochi-based seafood exporter Alex Ninan said details of apportioning of money provided in the Budget for the sector were not known. However, one of the areas is reducing import duty on inputs for the shrimp feed industry that will help aquaculture. Feed forms the most expensive input in aquaculture production, he said.
India produces around nine lakh tonnes of shrimp through aquaculture activities annually, and shrimp forms around 70% of the nearly eight billion dollar worth seafood exports from India to around 120 countries.
According to a rough estimate, there are around 80,000 hectares of shrimp cultivated area in the country, and West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh are the leading States. There are over 55,000 farmers engaged in shrimp culture in the country. The number could be on the higher side with the recent expansion of Vannamei shrimp cultivation in fresh waters, sources said.