“Let us target $30 billion in the next five years, which is 2.5 times of the present exports,” said Goyal, speaking at a national workshop on seafood exports. “It will happen with higher production and quality.” He highlighted that India has finalised nine free trade pacts with developed countries in the last three and a half years, which will provide greater market access to the seafood sector.
“Take India’s fish across the world,” said Goyal. “Reduce import of raw shrimp and export value-added goods and build brands.” India’s marine product exports reached a record ₹73,890.46 crore ($8.45 billion) in FY26, with export volumes of 1.97 million metric tonnes, while the sector has set a target of achieving ₹1 lakh crore in exports.
Goyal said cooperatives should be supported so that the benefits of deep sea fishing in the exclusive economic zone are enjoyed by local fishermen. While global trade in fisheries has surged 17% to $164 billion in FY24 from $150 billion in FY14, India’s exports have grown 70% to $8.5 billion in FY26.
Andhra Pradesh’s chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu urged stakeholders to build infrastructure for value addition in the fisheries sector, citing low value addition currently which has led to India’s exports in the sector going to countries like China, Vietnam, Chile, and Ecuador for value addition.
Noting that just 12% of processing in fish currently, he said that nothing is considered waste in fish, where everything has nutritional, pharmaceutical or nutraceutical value, he said: “A change in global food habits is moving people from carbs to protein, and high-protein fish present huge opportunities for growth in exports and inflow of foreign exchange”
At the same event, fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh said despite high tariffs of 55.8% by the US, India’s exports rose to the EU, Japan, China, and Southeast Asia.Singh also called for the creation of infrastructure to promote exports from inland states, whose share is less, along with higher value addition in the sector to above 25%, matching China.
He also said that the National Fisheries Board will soon open a regional office in Andhra Pradesh, the country’s largest producer of fish and seafood exporter, with an aquaculture production of 5.539 million tonnes in FY26, achieving a 66% share in shrimp exports.
The US and China continued to be the principal markets for India’s seafood exports, while frozen shrimp retained its position as the flagship export product.
Airports, cargo
At the same event, civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu said the government is looking to double the number of airports to more than 350, and that there are plans to add more cargo airports in the country.