Kolkata, July 26, 2024

 

There has been quite a number of announcement for marine products farmers and exporters in the Union Budget 2024 for Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) applauds the recent announcements made in the Union Budget 2024-25, which are set to significantly enhance India's aquaculture and seafood export sectors. The budget includes a range of strategic measures aimed at bolstering the competitiveness of India's marine products Sector, with a particular focus on shrimp production and export.

Key Highlights:

    1. Financial Support for Shrimp Broodstock Centers:
       
The government has committed to providing substantial financial support to establish a network of Nucleus Breeding Centres (NBCs) for shrimp broodstocks. This initiative is anticipated to drastically reduce India's reliance on imported broodstock, potentially saving the industry up to ₹150 crores annually. Hatchery operators are expected to benefit significantly, with projected savings of 50% on broodstock costs. Approximately 1 lakh farmers will benefit from a 30% reduction in shrimp seed costs.

    2. Facilitated Financing through NABARD:
       
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) will play a crucial role in facilitating financing for shrimp farming, processing, and export. This intervention is designed to cover 80% of project costs for farmers, accompanied by an interest subvention of up to 3%. A total of 639 export processing units are expected to benefit from enhanced access to infrastructure development funds, enabling them to improve and expand their facilities through assistance from NABARD.

    3. Customs Duty Reductions for Aqua Hatchery; Aqua Farm inputs:
       
Various inputs used in the manufacture of shrimp and fish feed will now enjoy customs duty exemptions. Various feed inputs viz. mineral and vitamin pre-mixes, krill meal, fish lipid oil, crude fish oil, algal prime, algal oil were fully exempted from any import duty. Artemia and Artemia cysts which are key nutritional inputs in aqua hatchery were also fully exempted from any import duty. 

The Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on essential aquafarm / hatchery inputs such as Vannamei and black tiger broodstock, polychaete worms, fish / shrimp feed has been reduced to 5%. Import duty for insect meal and single cell protein also reduced to 5%.

    4. Customs duty exemption for key input for Value Addition:
       
Breaded and battered shrimps, fish fingers, squid rings, etc, are in high demand in the international market. Pre-dust breading powder is one of the integral ingredients for manufacturing the product. Pre-dust Breaded Powder for Seafood Processing got exempted from 30% import duty.  

Shri. D V Swamy IAS, Chairman of MPEDA, stated, "These budget announcements are a testament to the government's unwavering commitment to positioning India as a global leader in seafood exports. The proposed measures will substantially lower production costs, elevate quality, and enhance the international competitiveness of Indian marine products."
MPEDA anticipates that these initiatives will lead to a significant increase in shrimp production, enhanced biosecurity, and a notable surge in value-added seafood exports. 

The marine products sector has been a vital contributor to India's export earnings, with seafood exports reaching an all-time high of over ₹60,000 crore in the last financial year. With these supportive measures in place, MPEDA is confident that the sector will achieve new milestones in production and export performance.

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