Southeast Asia, led by the Asean bloc, has in the past decade emerged as a major market for Indian seafood exports.
"In fact, China's influence on the Indian seafood industry has been on the wane as exports to Southeast Asian countries are surging, thanks to various Indo-Asean trade agreements signed in recent years. We expect Asean to emerge as a powerful influence in exports to Southeast Asia during fiscal 2013, and China's share of Indian exports to fall by at least 2%," said a senior Mpeda official.
Asean comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Under a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the bloc in 2009, it was decided to eliminate duty on 80% of the goods imported into these countries by 2013. The agreement came into effect in January 2010, and the original 30% tariff on Indian imports into Asean is proposed to be brought down to zero by 2014.
"Presently, the tariff on imports is around 10%; as this is lowered further, Southeast Asia, in particular the Asean bloc, will become our biggest market. This is clearly an advantage for Indian seafood exporters," the Mpeda official said.
In the April-December period of 2011, Southeast Asia emerged as the largest market for Indian seafood exports with a share of 25.8% in US dollar realization and 39.6% in quantity. Exports to Southeast Asia posted 43.2% growth in quantity, 103.7% in rupee value and 96% in US dollar realization. Meanwhile, China accounted for just 7.1% of Indian exports during the period, with a sharp decline in quality and value terms.
The surge in exports to the Southeast Asian region has been attributed to shortage of raw material in the Asean bloc. "The successive import duty reductions under the new FTA regime will have a marginal, though significant, impact in increasing exports to Asean going forward. But I doubt if shrimp, our biggest export item to the Southeast Asian region, will benefit from the import duty reduction. But cuttle fish and squid exports stand to gain," said Abad Fisheries MD Anwar Hashim.
Further, sources said that direct exports to China are now below 10%, and a majority of India's exports to China are routed through Asean nations like Thailand and the Phillippines for reprocessing. "Any embargo by China on Indian exports for whatever reason, would not be a death blow to Indian seafood exports, though it can have some negative impact," exporters said.
As per Mpeda, China had a 21% share of India's total marine products export worldwide with Indian seafood exports to China in fiscal 2011 touching Rs 1,978 crore. Fiscal 2012 numbers are awaited next month.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) A project titled "Sustainable Shrimp Industry Governance" has been launched in Ca Mau Province with the aim of supporting the transition of the province's shrimp industry toward higher quality, lower emissions, stronger governance capacity, improved supply chain traceability, and the development of a sustainable shrimp brand that meets the increasingly stringent requirements of export markets.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Khanh Hoa Provincial Agricultural Extension Center, in collaboration with the Northern Center for Marine Aquaculture Research and the Van Hung Public Service Center, recently organized a training course on disease-free golden pompano seed production. The program is part of a National Agricultural Extension Project aimed at developing industrial-scale seed production models to support sustainable marine aquaculture.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s pangasius exports have shown encouraging signs of recovery in 2026. In the first four months of the year, total export turnover reached USD 720 million, up 17% compared to the same period last year. This result reflects improving demand across many markets, as well as the efforts of Vietnamese pangasius enterprises to maintain production, secure orders, and adapt to changing market conditions.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The application of high technology in shrimp farming is delivering positive results in the coastal areas of Vinh Long Province, contributing to improved production efficiency and creating significant potential for further industry expansion. However, to fully capitalize on this potential, the province is focusing on aquaculture zoning, infrastructure investment, and promoting modern, sustainable production.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Đồng Tháp Province has intensified efforts to curb illegal fishing by strengthening vessel monitoring, law enforcement and seafood traceability.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Seafood businesses need solutions to overcome bottlenecks such as labor shortages, difficulty accessing capital, high input costs, and administrative procedures in order to maintain production, adapt to market fluctuations, and effectively exploit export opportunities.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The FTA would widen access to markets with strong demand for premium food products in line with the country’s strategy of shifting exports towards increasing added value.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On the morning of July 13th, Mr. Ho Quoc Dung, Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and Deputy Prime Minister, along with his delegation, visited and worked with businesses in An Giang province to promptly resolve obstacles and promote production and business activities.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) As importing markets increasingly focus on biosecurity and traceability, Vietnam has established a relatively comprehensive legal framework and disease management system for aquaculture, covering tilapia farming as well as other cultured species. This system is based on the Law on Animal Health, regulations on the prevention and control of aquatic animal diseases, the National Plan for the Prevention and Control of Major Diseases in Farmed Aquatic Species, and environmental monitoring and early warning programs for aquaculture areas.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On July 9, 2026, the Embassy of Vietnam in Brazil organized the seminar titled “Sharing Information on Vietnam-Brazil Economic, Trade and Investment Relations in the First Half of 2026” to provide updates on bilateral cooperation and strengthen connections among government agencies, industry associations, and business communities of the two countries.
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