No effect on seafood exports to China

KOCHI: India’s exports to China are not likely to have any adverse impact due to the novel coronavirus, the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) has said.

The deadly virus outbreak from the Chinese city of Wuhan has already claimed 242 lives in the Hubei province with 14,840 people diagnosed with the virus.

Several nations have imposed travel ban as the virus spread to some 20 countries including India.

“Seafood exports to China have increased substantially in the current financial year as compared to the same period a year earlier,” MPEDA chair KS Srinivas said on Thursday.

“During April-december, total seafood exports to China stood at 2,42,218 tonnes valued at Us$1032mn as against 1,65,950 tonnes (Us$589mn) in the same period last year.” MPEDA functions under the federal ministry of commerce and industry as a nodal agency for seafood industry development.

“The increase is 46 per cent in terms of quantity and 75 per cent in terms of value,” he said in a statement.

“There are 500 firms exporting seafood to China and the community, in general, has not raised any issue about exports on account of the coronavirus in that country.” However, he said, few of them have expressed concern about shipping to China as the shrimp consumption might reduce.

But there is a strong possibility of the Chinese consumers switching to healthier seafood options leaving behind other items such as reptiles of various kinds.

At the just-concluded India International Seafood Show (IISS) 2020 here, Srinivas had said the coronavirus outbreak had not affected the shrimp consumption in China.

India is the second-largest aquaculture producer in the world and the largest exporter of shrimp to the USA.

The country also exports a significant volume of shrimp to Europe and other markets in Southeast Asia.

In New Delhi, the group of ministers on the novel coronavirus (renamed by the World Health Organisation as COVID-19), met and reviewed the situation.

There are three cases reported positive from Kerala.

India had opened two quarantine centres having 645 people evacuated from Wuhan, maintained by the armed forces.

All inhabitants are medical ly examined, daily and all of them have tested negative for COVID2019.

So far 2,315 flights have been screened covering 249,447 passengers. Screening of passengers is ongoing at 21 airports, international seaports and border crossings.