Seafood Now India's No.1 Farm Export: $4.5 Billion!

For the first time, fish has beaten rice. Department of Commerce data for April–September 2026 — the first half of FY 2026-27 — show marine products earned $4.5 billion, up 13.2% on the same six months last year, making seafood India’s No.1 agricultural export, ahead of basmati rice. Only buffalo meat ($3.4 billion, up 53.8%) comes close. Total farm exports grew just 4.7% to $27.1 billion in the same period, so seafood grew roughly three times faster than the farm basket as a whole.

That matters because this is not a one-off spike. It follows a record full year — $8.46 billion in FY 2025-26 — and it happened while the industry’s biggest market, the United States, spent the year threatening tariffs of up to 100%. Indian exporters front-loaded shipments, diversified into Europe, China, Japan and Vietnam, and kept the growth going. This post breaks down the half-year numbers, what drove them, the Ecuador threat nobody should ignore, and what fishers and exporters can do to ride the wave.

The half-year at a glance

Marine products exports, Apr–Sep 2026 (H1 FY27)	$4.5 billion
Growth over H1 FY26	+13.2% (from about $4.0 billion)
Rank among farm exports	No.1 — ahead of basmati rice; buffalo meat No.2 at $3.4 billion
Total farm exports, H1 FY27	$27.1 billion, +4.7%
April–August 2026	$3.65 billion, +14.3%
September 2026 alone	$850 million, +8.8% year-on-year
US shipments, H1 FY27	$1.5 billion — still India’s largest seafood market
US shipments, first 5 months	$1.25 billion, +1%, about 34% of total seafood exports

How seafood overtook basmati

The ranking is the story. For years, basmati rice was the face of Indian farm exports. In April–September 2026, marine products ($4.5 billion) and buffalo meat ($3.4 billion) were the top two agricultural exports, both ahead of basmati, according to Department of Commerce data reported on 4 November 2026. The shift reflects a deeper change in the farm economy: livestock and fisheries now form roughly 40% of agricultural output, up from about 30% a decade ago.

Animal products have a structural advantage over cereals in export markets. Seafood and meat are rarely hit by the export bans, duties or minimum export prices that governments use on rice, wheat and sugar to fight food inflation, and they are less exposed to a failed monsoon. That gives steadier earnings to fishers and livestock farmers — and steadier export numbers to the country. The flip side is that animal products must clear strict sanitary and antibiotic-residue standards abroad, which is why market access — like the EU approvals below — matters so much.

The tariff storm — and how exporters survived it

The half-year growth is more impressive because of what the industry faced. Over the past year, the US threatened India with tariffs ranging from 10% to as high as 100%, including punitive duties linked to purchases of Russian oil. Several threats never became actual duties, but the repeated shifts unsettled exporters and pushed US buyers to reassess their sourcing.

The damage in the last full year was real. In FY 2025-26, India’s seafood shipments to the US fell 20% in volume and 14.22% in value, even as total exports hit their record $8.46 billion — because growth in the EU and China offset the American losses. The 50% reciprocal tariff was later lifted and replaced with an import surcharge, followed by a 10% tariff under Section 301, and a threatened tariff of up to 100% on the biggest buyers of Russian oil, including India, was waived. Exporters responded the way they had to: front-loading shipments ahead of tariff announcements and diversifying fast.

“We had no option but to diversify our exports to the European Union, Southeast Asia and the Middle East,” Alex K. Ninan of Kerala-based Baby Marine Group told the Financial Express. One Andhra Pradesh exporter, Jagadish Thota of Jagadeesh Marine Exports in Bhimavaram, said his US share of business is now 50%, down from 80% at one point, after diversifying into Europe, Russia and China. The US is still India’s largest seafood market — more than a fourth of exports by both volume and value — and it still offers substantially better price realisations than other destinations, which is why exporters keep prioritising it. But the dependence is falling, and that is the point.

Europe opens the door wider: 625 approved units

Diversification is not just a slogan — it is showing up in approvals. The EU approved 21 additional Indian fishery establishments for exports, taking the total number of EU-approved Indian fishery export units to 625, across Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha and Maharashtra. Trade sources say the approvals will further boost shipments, particularly of aquaculture shrimp and cephalopods, to the European market.

That matters because the EU is a high-value, high-standards market: getting a plant on the EU list is a multi-year compliance exercise, and each new approval is a door that stays open. Shipments to the EU, China, Japan, Vietnam and other markets all gained momentum in the first half, according to the Financial Express, and China — the largest market by quantity in FY 2025-26 — continues to take large volumes, even though pricing there is tough because Ecuadorian shipments account for about 70% of the Chinese market.

The Ecuador warning: India lost the US shrimp crown

Here is the number the industry should worry about. Between January and August 2026, Ecuador overtook India as the largest supplier of shrimp to the US: Ecuador’s shrimp exports to the US rose 32% year-on-year to 195,023 metric tonnes, surpassing India’s 177,994 metric tonnes, according to industry intelligence platform Shrimp Insights. India had led the market in 2025, exporting 300,051 metric tonnes against Ecuador’s 231,804 metric tonnes.

Ecuador competes mainly on price and volume. Indian exporters retain an advantage in value-added products — battered, breaded and ready-to-eat seafood — because Ecuador’s processing facilities have not yet been upgraded enough to produce them at scale. That advantage is not permanent. As one exporter put it, when Ecuador finds ways into new products, that could be a big threat in the long run. The message for India is clear: the future is not cheaper raw shrimp, it is higher-realisation processed products.

Why shrimp still runs the show

Frozen shrimp alone contributes about 67% of India’s seafood export earnings — in FY 2025-26 it was 66.52% of dollar earnings, worth $5,624.48 million on 7,92,647 metric tonnes. That concentration is both a strength and a risk: when shrimp does well, the whole export basket does well; when shrimp prices or US demand wobble, everything wobbles.

The production base behind the exports is strong. India’s farmed shrimp output hit a record in 2025-26 — vannamei alone reached 1,304,779 metric tonnes, with total farmed shrimp around 13.74 lakh tonnes — and overall fish production reached 197.75 lakh tonnes in 2024-25. The export story and the production story are the same story: more fish farmed, more fish shipped, more dollars earned.

India’s seafood exports: the recent record

FY 2024-25	16,98,170 tonnes • Rs 62,408.45 crore / $7.45 billion
FY 2025-26 (record)	19,72,018 tonnes • Rs 73,890.46 crore / $8.46 billion
H1 FY 2026-27 (Apr–Sep 2026)	$4.5 billion, +13.2% — No.1 farm export
Frozen shrimp share	~67% of export earnings; 7,92,647 MT in FY 2025-26
Top markets	USA ($1.5bn in H1 FY27), China, EU, Japan, Vietnam, Southeast Asia
Top export gateways	Visakhapatnam, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Kochi

If the second half holds the first half’s pace, FY 2026-27 would comfortably pass $9 billion — but that is arithmetic, not a forecast, and the industry itself is cautious. “Surviving and sustaining volumes is our only focus now,” one exporter said. Tariff policy can still change overnight, Ecuador is gaining, and price realisations matter as much as volumes. The honest read: a strong half-year, a healthier market mix, and a real competitive threat to manage.

What fishers and exporters can do with this

A data story is only useful if it changes a decision. Here is what the half-year numbers point to:

For shrimp farmers: the export engine is running hot, and vannamei remains the money crop — farmed production hit a record 13.05 lakh tonnes of vannamei in 2025-26. Keep quality and antibiotic-residue discipline tight: one failed consignment costs more than a season of careful farming, because EU and US buyers remember rejections.
For processors and exporters: get on the approved lists. The EU now has 625 approved Indian units, and the US rewards value-added products that Ecuador cannot yet match. Battered, breaded and ready-to-eat lines are where the margin is — raw frozen shrimp is a price war India is starting to lose.
For small fishers and fisher groups: register on the National Fisheries Digital Platform (NFDP) and get a digital ID — it is the gateway to scheme benefits, insurance and traceability that export buyers increasingly ask for. Confirm the current enrolment process on the official NFDP portal before travelling anywhere to register.
For anyone entering the trade: MPEDA — the Marine Products Export Development Authority, a statutory body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry headquartered in Kochi — is the registration and promotion authority for seafood exporters. Its state-wise export data and market guidance are the official starting point; confirm current registration requirements on mpeda.gov.in before applying.
For policymakers and students: watch the second half. If the EU/China momentum holds and the US stabilises at the 10% Section 301 tariff, FY 2026-27 becomes the year India’s seafood trade stopped depending on one market — and that is a structural change worth studying, not just a good quarter.

Frequently asked questions

How much seafood did India export in April–September 2026?
$4.5 billion, up 13.2% on the same six months of FY 2025-26, according to Department of Commerce data. September 2026 alone was $850 million, up 8.8% year-on-year.

Is seafood really India’s biggest farm export now?
Yes, for the first half of FY 2026-27: marine products ($4.5 billion) topped the agricultural export list, ahead of basmati rice, with buffalo meat second at $3.4 billion. Total farm exports were $27.1 billion, up 4.7%.

What was the previous record?
The full-year record is $8.46 billion (Rs 73,890.46 crore, 19,72,018 tonnes) in FY 2025-26, per MPEDA’s final data released 1 June 2026. The year before that, FY 2024-25, was $7.45 billion.

How is the US market doing after the tariff threats?
Better than feared. US shipments rose 1% to $1.25 billion in the first five months of FY 2026-27 (about 34% of total seafood exports), and reached $1.5 billion for the full first half. The 50% reciprocal tariff was lifted; a 10% tariff under Section 301 applies instead.

Why is Ecuador a threat?
Ecuador overtook India as the largest shrimp supplier to the US in January–August 2026 (195,023 tonnes vs India’s 177,994 tonnes). India still leads on value-added, processed products — that is the edge to protect.

What is driving the growth?
Diversification into the EU, China, Japan and Vietnam; 21 new EU-approved processing units (625 total); front-loading ahead of tariff changes; and record farmed shrimp production at home.

Official links and sources

Financial Express, 18 October 2026 (H1 FY27 $4.5bn +13%; US $1.25bn first five months, 34% share; EU 21 new approvals, 625 total; Ecuador 195,023 MT vs India 177,994 MT Jan–Aug 2026; tariff timeline; FY26 US -20% volume / -14.22% value)
Mint Affairs, 4 November 2026 (Department of Commerce data: marine $4.5bn +13.2%, buffalo meat $3.4bn +53.8%, top two farm exports ahead of basmati; total agri exports $27.1bn +4.7%; US $1.5bn in H1 FY27; Apr–Aug $3.65bn +14.3%; livestock + fisheries ~40% of agri GDP)
Rural Voice, 15 October 2026 (September 2026 marine exports $850 million, +8.8%; H1 marine $4.5bn, +13.2%)
Press Information Bureau (FY 2024-25 seafood exports: 16,98,170 MT, Rs 62,408.45 crore / $7.45bn; source: MPEDA; Lok Sabha answer by the Fisheries Minister)
MPEDA — Marine Products Export Development Authority (official) (statutory body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, HQ Kochi; registration and promotion authority for seafood exporters)

All figures above are from Department of Commerce data as reported on 15 October, 18 October and 4 November 2026, MPEDA’s final FY 2025-26 data (PIB release 1 June 2026, PRID 2267484) and MPEDA’s FY 2024-25 data (PIB PRID 2237419), verified 8 November 2026. No half-year export volume in tonnes is stated because no H1 volume figure appears in the sources read. The basmati ranking is per Commerce Department data as reported. Tariff figures describe threats and measures that were lifted or replaced, not current duties — check the current tariff position before shipping. The PMMSY outlay is the official Rs 20,050 crore. No “record half-year” claim is made. Images in this post are illustrations.

Seafood Now India’s No.1 Farm Export: $4.5 Billion!