New Delhi, 12 January. The Indian government announced on Monday that the country’s marine food exports have reached an all-time high in terms of value for the fiscal year 2024-25. The exports surged to ₹62,408 crore, marking an increase of 3.11 percent compared to ₹60,523.89 crore in 2023-24. According to the government, marine food exports continue to grow despite steep tariffs imposed by the United States.
Meanwhile, a significant increase in fish production has been recorded. In 2024-25, fish production rose to 197.75 lakh tonnes, up from 95.79 lakh tonnes in 2013-14, reflecting a remarkable increase of 106 percent.
Since April 2025, the U.S. has raised tariffs on Indian marine food products substantially, particularly increasing shrimp export duties to a total of 58.26 percent. Shrimp accounts for nearly 90 percent of India’s marine food exports to the U.S.
Despite these challenges, the Indian marine food sector has demonstrated resilience and adaptability in its performance. An official statement highlighted a comparison between the periods of April to October 2024 (before the tariffs) and April to October 2025 (after the tariffs), showing a clear increase in exports. During this time, the value of marine food exports rose by 21 percent, from ₹35,107.6 crore to ₹42,322.3 crore. In terms of quantity, exports grew by 12 percent, increasing from 9.62 lakh tonnes to 10.73 lakh tonnes. The value of frozen shrimp exports also saw a rise of 17 percent, while the quantity increased by 6 percent.
The Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying stated that the achievements in the fisheries sector are largely due to the various schemes and sound policies implemented over the past decade.
Since 2014-15, various initiatives by the fisheries department have provided employment to 74.66 lakh people, including both direct and indirect jobs.
Currently, India exports over 350 types of marine food products to 130 countries, with fisheries contributing 62 percent to the total export value. India is increasingly becoming a hub for high-value and processed marine food products.
According to the ministry, the contribution of value-added products to India’s total exports is approximately 11 percent. In the last five years, the export of these products has increased by 56 percent, rising from ₹4,863.40 crore to ₹7,589.93 crore.
In recent years, the central government has also increased investment in this sector significantly.
The government reported that investments worth ₹38,572 crore have been approved or announced under various schemes, including the Blue Revolution, the Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF), the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), and the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Kisan Samriddhi Yojana (PM-MKSSY).
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