Visakhapatnam: Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Friday set an ambitious target of taking India’s exports to more than $30 billion over the next five years, from $8.45 billion currently, and urged the industry to focus on value addition, branding and sustainable fishing practices.
Addressing the National Workshop on Seafood Exports in Visakhapatnam, Goyal said India’s fisheries exports have risen by about 70% since 2013-14, significantly outpacing global trade growth in the sector. He noted that seafood exports rose from around $5 billion in 2013-14 to about $8.5 billion in FY26, while global fisheries trade increased from $150 billion to $164 billion during the same period.
Stating that India has the potential to become a global leader in the sector, the minister stressed the need for responsible and regulated fishing. Responding to concerns over declining fish stocks, he said regeneration of small fish must be ensured to prevent environmental degradation. He added that no allegation of illegal fishing has been levelled against India’s sustainable fishing practices.
“Take India’s fish across the world. Reduce import of raw shrimp and export value-added goods and build brands,” he said.
The workshop was attended by Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Union fisheries, animal husbandry and dairying minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, food processing industries minister Chirag Paswan, civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu and representatives from the seafood industry.
The Department of Fisheries is exploring a dedicated production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the seafood sector to enhance global competitiveness, strengthen export infrastructure, encourage technology adoption, support research and development, and promote value addition. Officials said approval by the European Union for exports from more than 125 Indian fisheries establishments during the last financial year helped offset losses faced by the sector due to US tariff measures.
Speaking at the event, Rajiv Ranjan Singh said India must increase its share in global fisheries exports and emphasised greater value addition to improve returns for exporters and small fishermen. He also called for the development of export infrastructure in inland states (without a coastline), whose contribution to seafood exports remains relatively low.
Despite high US tariffs of 55.8%, Indian exporters managed to expand shipments to the European Union, Japan, China and Southeast Asian markets, helping compensate for any losses in the American market, he said.
The minister also indicated that the National Fisheries Board is likely to establish a regional office in Andhra Pradesh, the country’s largest fish-producing and seafood-exporting state. Andhra Pradesh recorded aquaculture production of 55.39 lakh tonnes in 2025-26 and accounts for about 66% of India’s shrimp exports.
India’s seafood exports touched a record ₹73,890.46 crore ($8.45 billion) in 2025-26, with export volumes reaching 19.72 lakh tonnes. The sector has set a target of crossing ₹1 lakh crore in exports.
The US and China remained the largest markets for Indian seafood exports during the year, while frozen shrimp continued to be the country’s leading seafood export product.
Rammohan Naidu said the government is working to more than double the number of airports in the country to over 350 and is also planning to expand cargo airport infrastructure. He said the ministry is exploring a “One Airport, One Product” initiative on the lines of the One District One Product programme and suggested reducing processing time for export consignments at cargo terminals to improve logistics efficiency.