The village population
in India which comprises of more than 1/3 of
the Indian population, have nothing but poverty
all around them. They are far too poor to even
afford an adequate diet. The main means of sustenance
here is agriculture and fishing, especially
in the coastal areas There is a good market
for India fish in the world..
The newly elected
government in India in June 1991, realized that
India's budget deficit, balance of payment problems
and structural imbalances would necessitate
re-evaluation of past economic policies and
financial institutions. To bring about economic
reform, the Indian government has tried to bring
about a more effective trade regime. The average
tariff for fish is 68.6 % with added taxes of
4% and 10% added to most products. In spite
of reforms Indian tariffs are the highest in
the world. Even after the liberalized system
of import license, seafood has strict license
rules. This applies to India fish as well.
In 1990 India
fish exports increased from 3.7 million tons
to 5.3 million tons in 1999. The gross value
of fisheries output in 1997-98 was U.S. $ 4845
million. In 1999, most of the fish production
consisted of carp, barbell and other cyprinids
{2.2 million tons}, next followed redfishes
etc { 0.7 million tons}, miscellaneous fresh
water fish{0.4 million tons}, marine fish and
shrimps/prawns {0.3 million tons}.
India was the
largest exporter of fish in 1998, which amounted
to 384474 tons which was worth U. S. $1100 million.
India fish exports increased steadily from133572
t in 1990 to 384474 t in 1998 and the value
went up from U.S.$467 million to U.S.$ 1134
million.
Most of India's
fish exports have gone to Japan closely followed
by United Arab Emirates, U.S.A. and EU. The
Southeast Asian countries like Thailand, Singapore,
China and Malaysia are also important markets
of Indian fish. The import situation is radically
different. Initially, India was a country where
no imports were allowed. But once the borders
were opened, imports quickly increased, though
the import level is still very low. India's
main import is fishmeal. Another product imported
from Bangladesh is the Hilsa. 97% of the imports
in 1998, of fresh and frozen fish, came from
Bangladesh.
In the Global
Market there is a definite inclination towards
India fish which is now considered as the brain
food. This is a major boon for developing countries
like India, which along with other Southeast
Asian countries is earning more than $33 billion
annually from the export of fish. The per capita
consumption of fish is 14.3 kgs per year, globally.
The European union consumes 23.6 kg per capita
annually and Southeast Asia 23 kg. By 2020,
it is expected that the per capita consumption
of fish will rise to 35.9 kg in China alone
and 25.8 kg per year in South east Asia.
As of 2000, by
order of their value, the most important fishery
products which come under the heading of India
fish which were being exported were: shrimp
($10.8 billion), salmon and trout($5.2 billion),
crabs and lobsters ($3.8 billion), mollusks($2.8
billion), cephalopods ($2.7billion), fish meal
($2.1 billion), small pelagics ($1.6) billion,
large pelagics ($1.1 billion) and flatfish($1.1
billion).
One of the most
interesting parts about seafood trade is that
a more extensive liberalization of world markets
could be disastrous for it. 60% of the major
fisheries of the world are already being over
exploited. Open access will lead to over harvesting
and depletion of fish stock. Therefore regulatory
restrictions are absolutely necessary. Under
these circumstances it would become difficult
to sustain the international market.
The fishery production
is around 125 million tons. China, Japan, India,
U.S.A., Russian federation, Indonesia and Chile
are the major fish producing countries. Out
of this India holds a third position in the
world production. Currently, India's total annual
fish production is 5.65 million tons (Inland-2.8
million tons and Marine-2.83 million tons).
But India has an estimated potential of about
8.4 million tons (Inland 4.50 and marine3.90
million tons). This vast untapped potential
can be utilized successfully to uplift India's
fish trade in the international market and secure
a position for India fish in the world.
For price
quotes and any further information, feel free
to call us today at:
Siam
Canadian Group Limited
9th Floor, Suite 283/44, Home Place Office Building.
283 Thonglor 13, Sukhumvit 55
Kongton Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110,
THAILAND
Call us at +66-2-185-3311
Fax: +66-2-185-3317
Email us at info@siamcanadian.com
