The major markets for Indian marine products shipments in the EU are Belgium, Spain, and Italy. With the India–EFTA trade agreement commencing on October 1, 2025, it is also expected to enhance market access to other markets, including Norway and Switzerland.
“The limitation in the number of EU-approved fishery establishments was a major impediment for our seafood exports to the EU,” D V Swamy, Chairman, MPEDA, said. With the new approval, 604 units can export seafood to the EU.
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Size of India’s seafood exports
India’s seafood exports, mostly frozen shrimp, were $ 7.45 billion or Rs 62,408 crore in FY25, with the United States having a share of 35% ($ 2.8 billion).
The EU is the third-largest seafood export destination for India after China, accounting for 15.10% of India’s total exports.
The seafood exports to the EU in FY25 were valued at Rs. 9429.56 Crore or $ 1.12 billion, and key export items included frozen shrimp, cuttlefish, and squid.
The EU countries imported marine products valued at $ 67.84 billion during 2024, of which India’s share was 1.50% only. “India has significant potential to improve the exports of frozen shrimp, frozen cephalopods, other prepared and preserved value-added products of shrimps, Tuna, etc,” the official said.
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Potential impact of tariffs on India’s shrimp market
To boost exports, MPEDA has initiated field-level sensitisation on the importance of Good Management Practices (GMPs) in aquaculture, implementation of traceability measures such as farm enrolment, residue monitoring through pre-harvest testing and adherence to hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) protocols from production to processing.
Hit by tariffs exceeding 59% tariff by the US, India’s shrimp export volumes are expected to decline by 15% -18% in the current fiscal, rating firm Crisil Ratings has recently stated.