India’s Seafood Exports Hit Record ₹73,890 Crore in FY 2025–26

India’s seafood sector recorded the highest-ever export performance in both volume and value in the FY 2025-26. According to the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) the country have exported 19.72 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of seafood worth of the ₹73,890.46 crore (USD 8.46 billion) despite the global economic challenges.

India Records Highest-Ever Seafood Exports

India’s seafood exports reached to the all-time high during FY 2025-26  and it reflecting the strong international demand and the resilience of the country’s marine products industry.

The total export volume stood at the 19,72,018 MT while the total export earnings touched ₹73,890.46 crore (USD 8.46 billion). This record performance comes at that crucial time when global trade has been facing the economic uncertainties, supply chain disruptions and the fluctuations in demand patterns.

Frozen Shrimp Continues to Dominate Exports

Frozen shrimp have continues to dominate the India’s seafood exports and it contributes ₹49,037.93 crore (USD 5.62 billion) with the export of 7,92,647 MT. This accounted for the 40.19% of the total seafood export quantity and an impressive 66.52% of total export earnings in the dollar context.

Shrimp also recorded the significant growth with earning increased by 13.16% in rupee terms and 8.64% in dollar terms as compare to the last year. Among the shrimp varieties both the Litopenaeus vannamei (L. vannamei) and Black Tiger Shrimp registered the growth in the export volume and value.

United States and China Remain Key Markets

The United States continued to be the India’s largest seafood market in terms of export value.

During the FY 2025–26, India exported around 2,79,193 MT of seafood to the United States and earned around USD 2.33 billion (₹20,263 crore). Frozen shrimp alone accounted for more than the 93% of the value of India’s seafood exports to the US market.

Meanwhile, China has emerged as the largest destination in terms of quantity and importing around 4,90,369 MT of seafood worth USD 1.61 billion.

The continued demand from these two major economies remains vital for sustaining the India’s seafood export growth.

Product-Wise Performance

Apart from the shrimp several other marine products have showed the positive growth.

• Frozen fish, squid and cuttlefish has recorded the growth.
• Also the dried seafood and live products gained attention.
• Surimi, fishmeal and fish oil exports have improved significantly.

Growth in Other Seafood Products

While the frozen shrimp have dominated exports, several other marine products also contributed significantly to the India’s export earnings.

Frozen fish became the second-largest export category and generated the revenues of ₹5,658 crore (USD 643.7 million).

Also the dried seafood products ranked third and it recorded remarkable growth. Exports in this category also earned the ₹5,079 crore (USD 577.44 million) and witnessed the strong 78.05% increase in rupee value terms.

European Union and Southeast Asia Remain Important Destinations

Apart from the United States and China there are other regions played the significant role in India’s seafood exports.

The European Union (EU) remained as the third-largest market in value terms and imported seafood worth USD 1.59 billion.

Southeast Asia followed closely with the imports worth USD 1.35 billion while Japan has imported seafood valued at USD 452.91 million.

The Middle East has been also remained an important market, importing the seafood worth USD 283 million during the financial year.

Key Ports Driving Seafood Exports

India’s seafood export logistics are heavily supported by the major ports. The top five ports which are contributing nearly 64% of the total export value includes the,

• Visakhapatnam (Vizag)
• Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT)
• Kochi
• Kolkata
• Chennai