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India to host envoys of 83 countries at roundtable on seafood exports
The event will be chaired by Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh.
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IANS - Tue, 20, Jan 2026
- 03:56 EST
- 23
Fishermen stand holding freshly caught 'stingrays' in their hands after the 61-day fishing ban at Kasimedu fishing harbor in Chennai on Sunday, June 22, 2025. / IANS
The Centre’s Department of Fisheries will organise a roundtable conference with ambassadors and high commissioners from 83 partner countries on Jan. 21 to promote seafood exports, it was announced on Jan. 20.
India ranks as the sixth-largest exporter of fish and fishery products. In 2024–25, seafood exports reached 16.98 lakh metric tonnes, valued at Rs 62,408 crore ($7.45 billion), contributing nearly 18 percent to India’s total agricultural exports.
The event will be chaired by Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Rajiv Ranjan Singh, in the presence of Ministers of State George Kurian and S.P. Singh Baghel.
Ambassadors and high commissioners from countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, Oceania, and Latin America and the Caribbean will attend the conference.
Senior officials from central ministries and international agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Bay of Bengal Programme (BOBP), Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), will also participate.
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The conference will serve as a key diplomatic and technical platform to enable structured dialogue on seafood trade, market access, regulatory cooperation, and emerging opportunities for deepening bilateral and multilateral partnerships.
According to an official statement, discussions will focus on promoting sustainable, traceable and value-added seafood trade, while identifying avenues for investment, joint ventures, technology transfer and capacity building. Deliberations will also address strengthening the resilience of seafood value chains to climate and market risks.
Key thematic areas include global seafood trade trends and opportunities for market diversification; standards, certification and regulatory cooperation; traceability, digital reporting and compliance systems; sustainability and responsible sourcing; value addition, processing and product innovation; cold chain infrastructure, logistics and port connectivity; financing, partnerships and private sector engagement across the blue value chain; and digital and technological transformation in fisheries and aquaculture.
The discussions will further highlight emerging global market dynamics such as rising demand for high-quality, certified and sustainably sourced seafood, increasing consumption of aquaculture-based proteins in North America, Europe and East Asia, and the expansion of premium product segments, including ready-to-cook, ready-to-eat and nutraceutical-grade marine products.
These trends present significant opportunities for India to expand its market share through enhanced compliance with international standards, a greater focus on value-added processing, species diversification, and leveraging its competitive strengths in aquaculture, processing capacity and a robust exporter base.
The outcomes of the conference are expected to contribute significantly to strengthening food security, improving livelihoods across fisheries value chains, and advancing shared goals of sustainability, resilience and inclusive development, the statement said.
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