Billion-dollar worry for seafood exporters to China

Calls to boycott Chinese products have left the Indian seafood exporters fearing retaliation even as the military standoff between the two neighbours threatens to derail economic ties.
For representational purposes
For representational purposes

KOCHI: Calls to boycott Chinese products have left the Indian seafood exporters fearing retaliation even as the military standoff between the two neighbours threatens to derail economic ties. With China being the second biggest market for seafood exports from India, the stakes are high for exporters who are battling the economic fallout of Covid-19 and the subsequent lockdown.

“There is a sense of panic among seafood exporters. We have been getting calls from our members on whether there will be retaliation from the Chinese side,” said Alex K Ninan, president of the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) - Kerala region. “We hope that things do not escalate further.”

Indian seafood exports to the Middle Kingdom have been growing at a healthy clip from $227.39 million in 2017-18 to $811.14 million in 2018-19, an increase of 256 per cent. For the year ended March 31, 2020, Indian seafood exports to China are expected to cross $1 billion by a big margin, an official with the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) said. The authority has not released the official numbers for 2019-20 yet.

There are around 500 Indian exporters shipping seafood to China. For the April-December period 2019, the total seafood exports to China stood at 2,42,218 tonnes, valued at $ 1.032 billion as against 1,65,950 tonnes valued at $ 589 million during the same period the previous year.

Amid calls to shun Chinese products, there are also reports that import consignments from China are facing hurdles at some ports, including Chennai and Mumbai. It is learnt that the Customs authorities have indicated to importers that there will be delays in clearing Chinese shipments.

"China is a quantity buyer. It's very difficult to find an alternative market to replace China with our exports. We hope there won't be any retaliation," said an MPEDA official, who requested anonymity. The USA, which bought seafood worth $2.344 billion last year, is the biggest market for India. The South-East Asian region constituted for $1.53 billion.

"There is no substitute for China. Seafood consignments to that country are waiting to be shipped in the coming weeks. We hope there won't be any hurdle," said Alex, who is also a national committee member of SEAI. Shrimps, ribbon fish and live crabs are some of the most sought-after items among Chinese buyers. Indian authorities don't pose any problem for exports, Alex added.

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