Hyderabad: In order to develop aquaculture in the country, the focus has now shifted to inland aquaculture in states like Telangana state, Chhattisgarh and Haryana as coastal markets are getting saturated. Hyderabad will be hosting Aqua Aquaria 2019, from August 30 to September 1, in order to increase awareness about aquaculture.
K.S. Srinivas, chairman of the Marine Products Exports Development Authority (MPEDA), said that in the last year alone, India’s seafood exports have grown exponentially with the country shipping over 1.4 lakh million metric tonnes of seafood worth $6.80 billion in the financial year 2018-19. The buoyancy in exports has been propelled by increased aquaculture production, particularly that of whiteleg shrimps. He added that MPEDA has envisaged a target of $15 billion for seafood exports for the year 2024. “As coastal areas are getting saturated, we are tapping the potential of inland aquaculture in various stages to reach the targets.
To reach our target we will focus on expansion, diversification, and enhancing productivity,” he said.
The demand for live fish is increasing in foreign countries, but as of now only frozen/chilled fish is being exported from India by sea. Hyderabad will play a key role in increasing the scope of exports through air transport and talks are being held with the GMR group, said the official.
The Telangana state government is also helping entrepreneurs by providing policy and financial assistance. So far, about `40 crore has been spent on the Blue revolution scheme and about `50 crore on the Integrated Fisheries scheme, said Dr C Suvarna, Commissioner, Fisheries, Telangana State.
