Hans News Service Vijayawada

NationalFisheries Development Board (NFDB) chief executive Dr Vijay Kumar Behera said that developing a strong domestic market was essential to protect India’s aquaculture sector from geopolitical uncertainties, US tariffs and international trade restrictions.

The Shrimp Retail-2026 conference was held at a hotel here on Tuesday. On the occasion, dignitaries unveiled the Aqua Post journal. The conference was attended by aqua farmers, processors, retailers and researchers from across the country. Participants presented strategies through PowerPoint presentations aimed at promoting the sustainable long-term growth of the domestic aquaculture sector.

Speaking as the chief guest at the conference, Dr Behera said the aquaculture industry should reduce its dependence on exports and focus on increasing domestic consumption of fish and shrimp. This, he said, would help ensure stable and remunerative returns for farmers and processors.

Referring to climate-related risks, including the El Niño phenomenon, Dr Behera said the NFDB was offering a 40% premium subsidy under the Aqua Crop Insurance scheme to protect farmers against possible yield losses. He urged aqua farmers to make use of the scheme. Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Deputy Director General (Fisheries Science) Dr Joykrushna Jena and Shrimp Retail Convenor Prabhas Pradhan said India ranked second globally in shrimp production, with Andhra Pradesh contributing more than 70% of the country’s shrimp output.

They stressed the need to increase seafood consumption in India, which remains low compared with countries such as China and the US. They said robust marketing strategies, an extensive retail network and an efficient supply chain across the country, with a population of over 140 crore, would help expand the domestic market and ensure stable and remunerative prices for aqua farmers.

They also called for efforts to dispel the misconception that shrimp was prohibitively expensive and urged stakeholders to promote it as an affordable, high-quality source of protein, particularly in non-coastal and northern states.