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) The year 2025 marked a pivotal milestone for Vietnam’s seafood industry in its restructuring process toward sustainability, transparency, and higher value creation, amid continued uncertainties in the global economic and trade environment. Prolonged inflation in major economies, the rising trend of trade protectionism, and increasingly stringent requirements related to environmental standards, traceability, and social responsibility have posed significant challenges to seafood production and exports. Nevertheless, overcoming these pressures, Vietnam’s seafood sector has gradually demonstrated its adaptability, maintained growth momentum, and laid an important foundation for the next stage of development.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Amid the increasingly evident impacts of drought and saltwater intrusion, the shrimp-rice production model in Ca Mau province continues to prove itself as a viable direction, contributing to higher farmer incomes, improved soil conditions and the promotion of ecological and sustainable agricultural development.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) The management of fishing vessels, monitoring of fishing activities, and handling of violations in the fisheries sector in Lam Dong province have continued to be implemented in a synchronized and stringent manner, contributing to raising awareness of legal compliance among fishermen and aiming to end illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Can Tho’s fishery industry sustained steady growth in 2025 with total aquatic and marine output reaching nearly 783,000 tons, fulfilling 100% of the annual target. Aquaculture, capture fisheries and fishing fleet management were further strengthened, aiming for sustainable development in the coming years.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Vietnam’s pangasius export turnover reached nearly USD 2.2 billion, up 8% year-on-year. This result indicates that pangasius exports maintained their growth momentum despite significant volatility in the global market environment. In December 2025, pangasius export value reached USD 200 million, up 10% compared to December 2024. This solid performance in the final month of the year reflects increased import demand for consumption and inventory replenishment in key markets.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) In 2025, Vietnam’s tuna exports to Spain experienced significant fluctuations. According to Vietnam Customs, during the first 11 months of 2025, export turnover for the first 11 months of the year edged up by 0.3% year-on-year, reaching nearly $15 million.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son has signed Decision No. 16/QD-TTg, dated January 5, 2026, approving the implementation plan for the Vietnam-Israel Free Trade Agreement (VIFTA). Under the plan, in the coming period, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-affiliated entities and People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities must institutionalize and execute tasks focused on the dissemination of information regarding VIFTA and the Israeli market; legislative and institutional development, as well as enhancing competitiveness and human resource growth...
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Beyond achieving double-digit growth, Vietnam’s fish cake and surimi exports are showing a notable year-end "inflection point": the EU his accelerating with nearly twofold growth, China & Hong Kong are rising sharply, while the largest market, South Korea, signaled a slowdown in November. According to Vietnam Customs data, export turnover of fish cake and surimi reached $327 million in the first 11 months of 2025, up 22% year-on-year; November 2025 alone accounted for $35 million, marking a 5% increase. This serves as a critical foundation for exporters to reassess market structures and competitive intensity while finalizing order strategies for 2026.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Ca Mau, widely regarded as the nation’s “shrimp capital”, continued its strong performance in 2025 as shrimp output reached nearly 600,000 tons, maintaining its position as Vietnam’s leading shrimp-producing locality.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) On December 29, 2025, at the 2025 Pangasius Industry Review Conference held in Can Tho City, the Vietnam Pangasius Association announced that fingerling prices have surged to record levels due to acute supply shortages.
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