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The Centre will help the seafood sector in all possible ways to make India the number one exporter by working together with new vigour with all the stakeholders, including the state governments and the Marine Products Export Development Authority, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash has said.
Addressing the 22nd India International Seafood Show here, the Minister said there was an urgent need to make India the prime producer of seafood, going up from the present fourth position.
The Minister was speaking at a function to give away MPEDA awards to 60 companies and individuals for excellent performance.
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The newly instituted MPEDA Chairman’s Award for most responsible exporter of the Year 2018-19 was given to Gadre Marine Products Pvt Ltd, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. The Lifetime Achievement Award, another new initiative, went to Abraham J Tharakan, Chairman and Managing Director of Kerala’s Amalgam Group.
Kerala Fisheries Minister Mercykutty Amma sought liberal financial assistance from the Centre to upgrade the fishing industry, including for replacement of the kerosene engine by more environment-friendly ones and for expansion of inland aquaculture. She pointed out that finance from the Centre was also required for implementing the state’s plan to popularise deep sea fishing.
‘Place sector in green zone’
Seafood Exporters Association of India national president Jagdish V Fofandi urged the Centre to send delegations, if necessary, to all those countries where the sector was facing export issues. The Prime Minister should take up the issue with the European Union, during his upcoming visit, for the benefit of seafood exporters. The government should also ensure that the Chinese market remained open to India, mainly because the neighbouring country had become a net importer.
He also made a plea for a relook at policy matters relating to primary producers and exports as the sector was working in a highly competitive environment. There was a need for placing the industry in the green zone, taking it from the brown zone, and upgrading the testing regime besides removal of regulations that resulted in the “overlap” of work by government agencies.
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