Indian Minister Lalan Singh Vows Tariff Fightback; Pushes Value-Added Seafood Drive at Exporters’ Meet

India's Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying and Panchayati Raj Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh on Monday urged India’s seafood sector to ramp up value addition and diversify markets to secure long-term export growth, as he addressed the Seafood Exporters Meet 2025 in New Delhi.

File Photo Source: Kostas Kedis (EU Commissioner for Oceans)

Flanked by Ministers of State Prof. S.P. Singh Baghel and George Kurian, Singh told industry leaders, state officials, and exporters that the government is committed to tackling tariff and non-tariff barriers in key markets while building a single-window system for better market linkages. 

He called on the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) to work with states on mapping species-specific exports and identifying new high-value destinations.

“India’s seafood sector cannot remain dependent on one product or one market,” Singh said, pledging support for infrastructure upgrades, high seas fishing, and Exclusive Economic Zone operations.

Prof. Baghel emphasised tapping India’s vast fisheries resources to open new markets, while Kurian reiterated the “Vocal for Local” approach to strengthen domestic consumption alongside exports.

Secretary (Fisheries) Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi highlighted that only 10% of export value currently comes from value-added products--well below the global average of 30–60%--and warned against over-reliance on Whiteleg shrimp, which accounts for 62% of export value but just 38% of volume. 

He called for urgent steps to reduce post-harvest losses and expand cold chain and processing capacity for premium species.

Exporters at the meet flagged tariff hurdles in the US, EU compliance challenges, gaps in infrastructure, and the need for stronger certification support. 

Suggested measures included targeted incentives for value addition, extending benefits to larger exporters, and B2B linkages with new markets such as South Korea, Oman, the UAE, and Russia.

India’s fisheries sector has more than doubled annual production over the past decade--from 95.79 lakh tonnes in FY 2013–14 to 195 lakh tonnes in FY 2024–25, a Press Information Bureau media statement said.

In FY 2023–24, India exported 17.81 lakh MT of seafood worth ₹60,523.89 crore (US$7.38 billion), with frozen shrimp contributing over two-thirds of earnings, according to PIB.