Economic appraisal of Indian marine products exports – A decadal analysis for the period 2001 to 2021

Abstract

Fishing is an age-old practice and the fisheries sector is vital to India’s economy, which contributes to the primary livelihoods of about 2.8 crores of fishers and many more along the fisheries value chain. Fish and fish products constitute about 17% of India’s total agricultural exports. The sector has been reckoned as a promising contributor to foreign exchange earnings. The compound annual growth rates of exports and their instability from 2001 to 2021 have been worked out for crustaceans, molluscs and frozen fish. The study revealed that the quantity of crustacean exports has grown at a comparatively high and significant rate of 11.08% during the decade spanning 2011-2021 (Period-II) than during 2001-2010 (Period-I). The growth in unit value realised from the export of molluscs declined from 5.8% during Period-I to 2.8% during Period-II. The growth in unit value of frozen fish export declined from 10.68% during Period-I to a slow growth rate of 0.11% in Period-II. The decline in the growth of unit values in molluscs and frozen fish indicates a declining demand and, in turn, a declining incentive for future exports from India.