Export of seafood gains momentum
Kolkata: Seafood export from the state including prawn that resumed from the middle of April is gaining momentum with the export in June being a little higher in comparison to the corresponding month in 2019.
Bengal accounts for 12 per cent of fish export from India and the turnover from marine product export from the state in 2019-20 was over Rs 5,300 crore with 1.25 metric tonne of fishes being exported. Among the seafood exported from the state, more than 70 per cent are prawn varieties.
"The lockdown did not have much effect on sea food export from Bengal as restrictions in export of fish was lifted in the middle of April and soon all the 52 processing centres spanned across North and South 24 -Parganas, East Midnapore and Howrah started functioning adhering to the health protocol," said a senior official associated with seafish export from Bengal.
Bengal saw 8 per cent growth in sea food export in 2018-19 compared to the previous fiscal. Fishes are mainly exported to the Europeon countries and some quantity in Japan and China too. Among the prawn varieties – shrimp accounts for 70 per cent export while the other fishes that are exported are other prawn varieties, pomfret, octopus and some other sea fishes.
"Majority of the export from Bengal takes place through waterways and only a little export to Bangladesh happens through road," said Archiman Lahiri, Deputy Director Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), which regulates export of marine products in the country.
Around 80 to 85 per cent of prawn cultivated in the state is exported and only 15 per cent is used for domestic customers.
The International Seafood Processing Centre at Chakgaria in South 24-Parganas that has 10 processing units with modern facilities like quality control, water treatment plant, laboratory, cold storage, ice plant, affluent treatment plant has also started full fledged operation from the unlock period.
Interestingly the employment generated by this seafood processing centre is nearly 15,000.
The brackish water prawn cultivation has been badly hit by the devastating cyclone Amphan that hit the state on May 20. Heavy rainfall that lashed the state on the fateful day contributed to saline water getting mixed with sweet water and vice versa .
"We have identified the waterbodies where the water had become unsafe for pisciculture. Potassium permanganate and quicklime is being used for purification of water so that cultivation can start afresh," said an official of the state Fisheries department.
