The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), under Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, in association with the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI), is organizing the 22nd edition of India International Seafood Show (IISS) 2020 in Kochi from 7-9 February 2020.
The theme of this year’s seafood show is “Blue Revolution- Beyond Production to Value Addition”. Over 200 exhibitors, 350 stalls and more than 5000 delegates, including foreign delegates, are expected to attend the three-day event at Kochi. The delegates include seafood processors, buyers and stakeholders, from other related sectors, representing firms in India and abroad. Buyer delegations from countries focused on mutual tie-ups in the sector of seafood processing and value addition will also be participating in IISS 2020.
The biennial show returns to Kochi after 12 years and will provide a platform for Indian exporters and overseas importers of Indian marine products to interact. It will also give an opportunity for display and sale for manufacturers and suppliers of processing machinery, packaging systems, processing ingredient dealers and cold chain systems. The seafood show will also give service providers like the logistics and certifying and testing segments an opportunity to showcase their products.
IISS 2020 will highlight the technological advances and sustainable practices followed in seafood processing sector in India. Indian seafood processors have to make their mark in the sustainable league with the cooperation from the fishing and farming sectors. Further, the processing industry always looks to upgrade its technological backup for value addition. This will result in increase in the percentage of exports of value added products in this decade from the current level of 6 % in the total exports.
During 2018-19 India has exported over 14,37,000 tons of marine products worth USD 6.70 billion as per provisional figures. With a multi-pronged strategy, addressing capture fisheries and aquaculture, it is expected to achieve an export turnover of USD 15 billion in next five years. Sustainable fishing methods, value addition and increased aquaculture production through diversification will support this target set out for export of India’s marine products.
The IISS is one of the oldest and largest seafood events in the world. It attracts seafood traders from the major markets like USA, EU, Japan, South East Asia and other countries. Apart from this, foreign machinery manufacturers will showcase their cutting edge equipment/machineries. The seafood show gives scope for tapping new avenues and introducing various technologies and products to the global market. Over the years, IISS has served as a platform to bring together the Indian seafood export fraternity and the overseas buyers under one roof, enabling them to interact and finalize future business dealings. The Show will pave way for Foreign Direct Investment in India and will contribute significantly to the Make in India programme.
The 21st edition of IISS was held in Goa in January 2018.
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MM/ SB