COOPEXCIL, the cooperative sector exports promotion council organised a Fisheries Exports Promotion Workshop under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojna (PMMSY) at Mangaluru, Karnataka on 19 March 2022. NCDC, the apex development finance institution of central government has steered COOPEXCIL to realize the goal of cooperatives contributing a major share to GDP of India.

Speaking at the workshop, Sundeep Nayak, managing director of NCDC said that the flagship PMMSY has earmarked an investment of more than Rs.20,000 crore as part of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Package. It is estimated that fish production in India would increase to 22 million metric tonnes and fisheries export earnings to reach Rs.1,00,000 crore by 2024-25.

The workshop saw participation of stakeholders from a wide spectrum representing the fishers, cooperative institutions, fish processors, fish exporters, government bodies, academic and research institutions. Sahakar Bharati functionaries also partnered with NCDC in organizing the workshop. Shri Ramesh Vaidya, former national President of Sahakar Bharati lauded the efforts of NCDC in mainstreaming the potential of fisheries cooperatives of the region.

Officers form the Department of Fisheries of central government highlighted the supportive ecosystem created in fisheries exports. Discussions in the workshop covered seafood exports, infrastructure support for export promotion, deep sea fishing for exports and quality standardization issues for exports. Dr. Rajeev Ranjan, former Secretary (Fisheries) in central government and currently senior adviser in NCDC delivered a keynote address. Experts from the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa and Karnataka and from central organizations like NFDB, CMFRI contributed immensely in the discussions. Experts from the College of Fisheries, Mangaluru also participated.

Through the workshop, bottlenecks in the region were identified and interventions required at various levels were drawn up. Other issues, like brand development, leveraging networks, market intelligence, joint ventures, vertical & horizontal expansion in aquaculture, introduction of new technologies, exchange of best practices, etc. were highlighted.

An memorandum of understanding was signed between NCDC and the College of Fisheries, Mangaluru during the workshop.

The series of fisheries exports workshops being organised by COOPEXCIL-NCDC is also aimed at bringing out a framework road map for fisheries exports enhancement.