KUWAIT CITY: While the impact of the ban imposed by Thailand and Kuwait on Indian frozen shrimp exports is deemed “negligible”, the sector has expressed concern over the effect this measure could have on public perception, indicates a report of the Indian Credit Rating Agency (ICRA)
ICRA recalls that in early December the Thai Department of Fishery imposed a temporary suspension on five categories of shrimp, including Penaeus vannamai and Penaeus monodon from India due to a presence of infectious myonecrosis (IMNV)1. Beforehand, Kuwait imposed a ban on the import of Indian shrimp due to the suspected appearance of an acute disease. During the financial year 2017, frozen shrimp exports from India witnessed a 25 per cent growth in value year on year and a 19 per cent volume increase, compared to the previous year.
The volume growth was supported by increasing global demand for Indian shrimp and weak production in other major aquaculture regions such as Vietnam, Thailand.
Apart from the favourable global demand scenario supporting the growth, the domestic supply dynamics have also been favourable aided by increasing acreage in the states of West Bengal, Gujarat, Orissa.
Therefore, the sector considers that the growth in demand of Indian frozen shrimp exports is expected to remain healthy despite the negative sentiments over the imposition of ban on Indian shrimp.
Overall with almost 77 per cent of frozen shrimp exports from India being exported to the US, Vietnam and EU countries, the revenues are expected to grow by 25-30 per cent year on year in for the 2018 financial year.
During the mid-term review of the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-2020, the government incentives for seafood exporters under the MEIS scheme was increased from 5 per cent to 7 per cent to encourage exports and support the profitability of the exporters.
