Domestic fish market in India is growing at the rate of 30 percent and so the prices of Indian seafood are on the rise. The demand, which was largely metro-centric only a few years ago, is now spreading to tier-II and tier-III cities. This sudden spurt in demand is pushing up prices. It is obvious that the high price of meat compelled consumer to eat fish and so the prices of fish is on the rise.
People living in tier-II and tier-III cities and even in interior places have started consuming fish. We are seeing this growth coming from Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. This has pushed up prices. Anwar Hashim, MD of Abad Fisheries, said that pomfret, a fish that used to export, is now entirely consumed in the domestic market. This has pushed up prices of this category of fish. The farm shrimp that was .200 a kg a year-ago has appreciated to.300 per kg.
Figure shows that India produces about 9 million tonne seafood annually but only between 9 to 10 percent or about 88,000 tonne is exported to overseas markets. According to the seafood industry, India is expected to ship marine products worth nearly $3.3 billion in the current fiscal. Rajarshi Banerjee, director of Razban Seafood, said that there is also a tremendous growth in the value-added seafood as well in India.
