National Workshop on Seafood Exports Held
A National Workshop on Seafood Exports was convened by the Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, with support from the Government of Andhra Pradesh, on 5th & 6th June 2026 in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The first day of the workshop was graced byi Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh; Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry; Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying and Panchayati Raj; Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, Minister of Civil Aviation, GoI; and Chirag Paswan, Minister of Food Processing Industries, GoI.
The workshop brought together senior officials from the Central Government, along with representatives from States and Union Territories. Key national institutions, including the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), Export Inspection Council (EIC), National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), NABARD, NCDC, NCEL, SFAC and Invest India, participated. The workshop also witnessed the presence of seafood exporters, industry associations, processors, start‑ups, and other value‑chain stakeholders, ensuring comprehensive representation of the seafood export ecosystem.
The deliberations emphasized positioning India as a globally competitive seafood exporting nation. Key areas included the transition from volume-based exports to value-added, high-quality products, along with the promotion of innovation, advanced technologies, and robust traceability systems to strengthen India’s global seafood brand. Discussions also highlighted the need to expand export infrastructure and logistics, including cold chain, air cargo, and quarantine facilities, to ensure efficient and compliant trade.
Sagar Mehra, Joint Secretary, Department of Fisheries, emphasised scaling up production, strengthening traceability and certification frameworks, and harnessing untapped potential in deep-sea and EEZ resources through ongoing reforms and flagship schemes.
Ajay Bhadoo, Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, outlined India’s export performance, evolving global market dynamics, and the role of FTAs, market diversification and enhanced competitiveness in expanding seafood exports.
D. Praveen, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, underscored the need to scale up processing and value addition, highlighting gaps vis-à-vis global benchmarks, and outlined key schemes supporting cold chain development, processing infrastructure and value chain integration to improve export value realisation.
Swatantra Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department of Fisheries, Government of Madhya Pradesh, emphasised the export potential of inland fisheries, with focus on cage culture, reservoir-based aquaculture and diversification into high-value activities such as pearl culture to boost farmers’ incomes and production.
The first technical session, titled “Advancing Seafood Exports: Leveraging Value Addition, Certification and Traceability,” was chaired by D. V. Swamy, Principal Secretary, Government of Odisha, with P. Jawahar, Chairman, MPEDA, and Joint Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, serving as co-chairs. .
The second technical session, titled “Fisheries & Aquaculture Start-ups and MSMEs in Advancing Seafood Exports,” was co-chaired by Shri Sagar Mehra, Joint Secretary (Inland Fisheries), Department of Fisheries, MoFAH&D; Dr. J. K. Jena, DDG (Fisheries), ICAR; Dr. B. K. Behera, Chief Executive, NFDB; and Dr. Surabhi Rai, Joint Secretary (Marine), Department of Fisheries, MoFAH&D. (UPDATED ON 7TH JUNE 2026)
