Indian aquaculture shrimp production is set to grow at 4.9 per cent annually during 2014-18. The projected growth rate is second highest among the major shrimp-producing regions. The only places that may have a better performance are the Middle East and North Africa where shrimp output is expected to expand by 10.30 per cent. However, this growth rate is lower than average 13.70 per cent increase in shrimp production recorded by India during 2011-2014. Similarly, the Middle East and North Africa regions too had turned in a robust annual growth rate of 32.9 per cent between 2011 and 2014. South East Asia and Americas are set to clock meagre 1.6 per cent and 2.5 per cent growth in shrimp output respectively during 2014-2018. According to the forecast presented during GOAL organized by Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) , an international, non-profit trade association dedicated to advancing responsible aquaculture, held this year in Guangzhou, China, aquaculture shrimp production in India will be less than 0.6 million tonne during 2016, 2017 and 2018. The report seconds the Marine Products Export Development Authority’s (MPEDA) plan that is betting big on aquaculture diversification, quality control, value addition and improved production infrastructure to achieve an marine product exports of USD 5.6 billion in 2016-17, after a slump in exports in the last fiscal. India targets to achieve an export turnover of $10 billion by the year 2020. The MPEDA is supporting shrimp culture through cluster farming approach. More than 10,000 farmers have been organized into aquasocieties who are implementing Better Management Practices’. The aquasocieties are also helping the farmers to access credit, quality seeds, feeds and other inputs, reducing the burden of diseases and improving product quality. Aquaculture is a very significant area for marine exports as far as India is concerned and our efforts are geared towards greater technology inputs and product diversification in this area, A Jayathilak, MPEDA Chairman had said recently. According to the data, the world production will increase in 2017 and 2018, with a projected annual growth rate for 2015-2018 being 4.2 per cent. The GOAL chart for shrimp production shows an estimate of around four million tonnes for 2016, which is forecasted to increase to around 4.3 million tonnes in 2017, and about 4.5 million tonnes in 2018. Together the MPEDA, Ministry of Commerce and states are making conscious efforts to improve the aquaculture production in the country through policy interventions and other measures, said an industry source.
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