India to Host Seafood Export Roundtable with Ambassadors from 83 Countries

New Delhi: The Department of Fisheries announced on Tuesday that India will host a roundtable conference on 21 January with ambassadors and high commissioners from 83 partner countries to boost seafood exports.

India is the sixth-largest exporter of fish and fishery products globally. In 2024-25, seafood exports reached 16.98 lakh metric tons, valued at ₹62,408 crore ($7.45 billion), accounting for nearly 18% of India’s total agricultural exports.

The event will be chaired by Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Rajeev Ranjan Singh, with participation from Minister of State George Kurian and S.P. Singh Baghel.

Ambassadors and high commissioners from Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, Oceania, and Latin America & the Caribbean will attend. Senior officials from central ministries and international agencies such as FAO, AFD, GIZ, Bay of Bengal Programme (BOBP), Asian Development Bank (ADB), and IFAD will also be present.

The roundtable aims to serve as a key diplomatic and technical platform for structured dialogue on emerging opportunities in seafood trade, market access, regulatory cooperation, and bilateral and multilateral partnerships.

According to an official statement, discussions will focus on promoting sustainable, traceable, and value-added seafood trade, identifying opportunities for investment, joint ventures, technology transfer, and capacity building.

Other areas of focus include:

• Strengthening resilience of seafood value chains against climate and market risks.

• Value addition, processing, and product innovation.

• Cold chain infrastructure, logistics, and port connectivity.

• Financing, partnerships, and private sector engagement in the blue value chain.

• Digital and technological transformations in fisheries and aquaculture.

The conference will also discuss emerging global market trends, such as:

• Increasing demand for high-quality, certified, and sustainably sourced seafood.

• Rising consumption of aquaculture-based protein in North America, Europe, and East Asia.

• Expansion of premium product segments, including ready-to-cook, ready-to-eat, and nutraceutical-grade marine products.

These trends provide India with opportunities to enhance compliance with international standards, focus on value-added processing, diversify species, expand aquaculture and processing capacity, and strengthen its exporter base to capture a larger share of global markets.

The statement added that outcomes from the conference are expected to contribute to food security, improved livelihoods across the fisheries value chain, and shared goals of sustainability, resilience, and inclusive development.