A two-day National Workshop on Seafood Exports will be held in Visakhapatnam on June 5 and 6 to prepare a comprehensive roadmap for strengthening India’s seafood export ecosystem, with major cooperative institutions such as National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India, National Cooperative Development Corporation and National Cooperative Exports Limited expected to play an important role in expanding market linkages, export financing, value addition and farmer integration.
The workshop is being organised by the Department of Fisheries under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, with support from the Government of Andhra Pradesh.
The event will be attended by senior Union ministers including N. Chandrababu Naidu, Piyush Goyal, Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu and Chirag Paswan.
Along with fisheries and export-related agencies, cooperative organisations are expected to emerge as major stakeholders in building an integrated seafood export value chain. NAFED is likely to contribute through agri-marketing networks and export facilitation, while NCDC is expected to focus on financing fisheries cooperatives, infrastructure creation and strengthening producer organisations.
NCEL’s participation assumes significance as the newly formed national cooperative export platform seeks to connect cooperative producers directly with international markets.
Other participating institutions include National Fisheries Development Board, Small Farmers’ Agribusiness Consortium, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and Marine Products Export Development Authority.
Technical sessions will deliberate on State-specific export strategies, traceability systems, certification standards, infrastructure requirements and value addition. Special emphasis will also be placed on integrating start-ups, MSMEs and fisheries cooperatives into the export ecosystem.
India’s marine exports touched a record ?73,890.46 crore in 2025-26, with volumes reaching 19.72 lakh metric tonnes. The country has now set a target of achieving ?1 lakh crore in seafood exports. Officials believe stronger coordination among cooperative bodies, exporters, processors and government agencies can help achieve this target.
Host state Andhra Pradesh, India’s leading seafood producer and exporter, has received major fisheries infrastructure investments under schemes such as PMMSY and FIDF. The workshop is expected to outline a future-ready and globally competitive seafood export framework driven by innovation, cooperative participation and improved market access.
