The Union Fisheries Ministry will host ambassadors and high commissioners from around 80 countries at a ‘Fisheries Round Table’ in New Delhi on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, as part of efforts to identify new export destinations for Indian seafood and strengthen bilateral trade linkages.
The meeting will be chaired by Union Minister for Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Rajiv Ranjan Singh and will focus on expanding international market access while promoting sustainable, traceable, and value-added seafood trade. According to the ministry, the discussions will also explore opportunities for investment, joint ventures, technology transfer, and capacity building across the fisheries sector.
A government release said the agenda will include strengthening the resilience of seafood value chains to climate and market risks. The discussions will also cover global trade trends and opportunities for market diversification, regulatory standards and certification, and traceability and digital compliance systems.
Other focus areas include sustainability and responsible sourcing, value addition and product innovation, cold chain infrastructure and logistics, port connectivity, financing and private sector partnerships, and the digital transformation of fisheries and aquaculture.
The ministry said the meeting will also highlight emerging global market dynamics, including rising demand for high-quality and sustainably sourced seafood, growing consumption of aquaculture-based proteins in North America, Europe, and East Asia, and the expansion of premium product segments such as ready-to-cook, ready-to-eat, and nutraceutical-grade marine products.
These trends present opportunities for India to expand its market share through stronger compliance with international standards, greater emphasis on value-added processing, diversification of species, and leveraging its competitive strengths in aquaculture and processing capacity.
The ministry expects the outcomes of the discussions to support food security, improve livelihoods across fisheries value chains, and advance shared goals of sustainability, resilience, and inclusive development.
India is the world’s second-largest aquaculture producer and among the leading global producers of fish and aquatic foods. In 2024–25, the country exported 16.98 lakh tons of seafood valued at ₹62,408 crore, accounting for nearly 18% of total agricultural exports.
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