The Vannamei variety of shrimps played a major role in boosting India's marine products export during the 2012-13 fiscal.
The export of this shrimp variety, cultivated in the East Coast, fetched $730 million against $385 million last year.
India exported 91,000 tonnes of vannamei shrimps in last fiscal against 40,787 tonnes the previous year, the Marine Products Export Development Authority sources said adding that the total shrimp exports comprising tiger, scampi and vannamei during the period was 2.2 lakh tonnes (1.8 lakh tonnes).
Marine product exports data for 2012-13 are yet to be released by the MPEDA. Last year, the country had garnered export revenue of Rs 19,000 crore ($3.5 billion)
This year, MPEDA is expecting a five per cent increase in quantity and 12 per cent in value terms. Official sources at the Seafood Exporters Association of India said that Vanammei exports registered a considerable increase in the last three years, thanks to production by aqua farms in Andhra Pradesh. Exports were 12,407 tonnes in 2010-11 and 40,787 tonnes in 2011-12.
Farmers in the East Coast region earned Rs 300 a kg in the last fiscal year. The productivity of this variety is about 10 tonnes a hectare in the region. There has been a considerable increase in acreage under Vannamei farming and the total area under cultivation was 22,715 hectares.
SEAI officials expressed the hope that shrimp exports from the East Coast will do better in the current year also on account of a good yield in aquaculture farms in Andhra Pradesh. This coupled with the detection of Early Mortality Syndrome for shrimps in Thailand, Malaysia and China will benefit India considerably, he said.