BHUBANESWAR: The state government informed the Assembly on Wednesday that seafood exports from Odisha to the Middle East declined by 14.57 per cent in value amid the conflict and disruptions in the region, resulting in an estimated loss of around Rs 23.40 crore in export earnings.
Replying to a question by former minister and BJD MLA Pratap Keshari Deb, Fisheries and Animal Resources Development minister Gokulananda Mallik said the figures were based on data obtained from the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA).
The decline was recorded despite a sharp increase in Odisha’s overall seafood exports during the year. The value of marine product exports from the state rose 16.36 per cent year-on-year, translating into an increase of Rs 763.94 crore. The state exported 1,00,864 tonne of fish, shrimp and other marine products valued at Rs 5,431.95 crore in 2025-26, according to the data furnished to the Assembly.
The minister said Middle East-bound shipments declined in volume during April-August this year. Odisha’s seafood exports to the region fell 17.88 per cent to 2,807 tonne from 3,418 tonne in the corresponding period of 2025, while export value dropped 14.57 per cent to Rs 137.17 crore from Rs 160.57 crore.
Mallik said shrimp continued to dominate Odisha’s seafood export basket. Frozen shrimp exports increased from 85,246 tonne worth Rs 4,600.25 crore in 2021-22 to 99,713 tonne worth Rs 5,409.92 crore in 2025-26. Total seafood exports during the five-year period rose from 86,765 tonne worth Rs 4,627.91 crore to 1,00,864 tonne worth Rs 5,431.95 crore.
To a separate question from BJD MLA Ashwini Kumar Patra, the minister said the state produced 8.27 lakh tonne of freshwater fish and 1.87 lakh tonne of brackish-water fish in 2025-26. Citing the Centre’s Handbook of Fisheries Statistics 2025, he said Odisha ranked fourth nationally in overall fish production in 2024-25, producing 11.92 lakh tonne against India’s 197.75 lakh tonne. On concerns over the declining taste of freshwater fish, the minister said there was no data to establish such a trend. He added that different fish varieties were being produced in accordance with consumer preferences.