Hyderabad: Seafood exporters fear stock pile up.

HYDERABAD: With exports to US, UK, China, and other eastern countries affected due to Covid-19, the seafood industry fears piling up of stocks. 

“Around 25% of shrimp exports are to China and there is a significant fall in demand. This has already led to oversupply of shrimp in the Indian market,” a senior official from Seafood Exporters Association of India told TOI. “One of the major reasons for this is also because Chinese markets were not able to sell their inventory during the holidays and so they are not accepting new orders,” he added. 

Seafood exporters in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have informed that soorai (tuna), seerfish, kerai (yellow tuna), mayil (sailfish), cuttlefish, sardines, shrimp, silver, freshwater prawns, white leg shrimp, Tilapia, and black pomphret have seen a dipping demand in European markets which account for almost 20% of Indian exports. 

“Most of the seafood consuming countries in the middle east and Europe like Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal, and France have stopped imports and we are asked to stop sending shipments till the situation gets better,” an official from Usha Seafood in Kakinada told TOI.