Centre allocated Rs 3,490 crore for fishing harbours to promote exports

New Delhi, March 18: The Centre has allocated Rs 3,490 crore as financial assistance to the states, Union Territories, and implementing agencies for the construction of fishing harbours, fish landing centres, and modernisation and maintenance dredging of existing fishing harbours to promote seafood exports which have doubled to Rs. 60,523.89 crore in the last 10 years, the Parliament was informed on Tuesday.

The allocation was made in the last five years from 2020-21 to 2024-25 under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) scheme, which provides for sustainable investment in infrastructure with the objective of enhancing production, productivity, and exports and addressing key gaps including reduction of post-harvest losses in various component of the value chain, Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal informed the Rajya Sabha.

The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), a statutory body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, promotes and regulates the export of marine products. The initiatives by the MPEDA for boosting shrimp exports are oriented towards production and processing.

To strengthen the export value chain, the government has also sanctioned projects adjacent to major ports namely, the modernisation and upgradation of the fishing harbours at Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Paradip, Cochin and Mumbai Port with 100 per cent financial assistance under the PMMSY in convergence with Sagarmala at a total cost of Rs 651.14 crores, Sonowal said.

During the financial year 2023-24, India exported an all-time high volume of 17,81,602 metric tonnes of seafood worth Rs. 60,523.89 crore.

The Centre is now aiming to achieve an export turnover of $18 billion (Rs 1.57 lakh crore) by 2030. The target forms a part of Vision Document 2030 for India’s seafood exports that has been formulated by MPEDA.

The Department of Fisheries is implementing the flagship PMMSY scheme with an investment of Rs 20,050 crore in the fisheries sector for a period of 5 years with effect from the FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25 across all states and UTs which has led to the jump in exports. The scheme envisages enhancing marine exports to Rs 1.0 lakh crores in 2024-25.