Vijayawada :
Stating that marine exports from India registered a marginal growth, Marine Products Export Development Authority (Mpeda) chairperson Leena Nair said international exposure to farmers would boost production and exports. She said Mpeda was emphasizing on usage of latest technology in brooding of shrimp and scampi.
An international exhibition-Aqua Aquaria India-2013, a biennial event of Mpeda, will be launched at Loyola college campus here on Friday. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of international expo, Leena Nair said the international Aquaria was being organised in the city keeping in view that Krishna district stands first in aqua farming in the state.
She explained that over 10,000 farmers have hatcheries spread in 35,000 hectares of brackish water. She said 150 international and domestic stalls would be put up to showcase the latest technology of aqua farming. She said India had exported about 6.6 lakh metric tonnes of marine products worth Rs.13,994 crore till the third quarter of 2012-13. Leena Nair said India exported nearly 8.62 lakh tonnes of marine products during 2011-12 as against 8.13 lakh tonnes in 2010-11 with a growth rate of 6%. In monetary terms, the growth registered was 22%. She hoped India would perform better in the current financial year. She added that frozen shrimp continued to be the major export value item accounting for 52.62% of the total earnings. Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture (RGCA) project director Y C Thambi Samraj said that a high quality brooding centre was established at Kankipadu. He said a brood stock multiplication centre for L Vannamei fish would be set up in Visakhapatnam soon. He said the Visakhapatnam centre would cater to the needs of L Vannamei growers in the state.
Samraj said L Vannamei was found be the latest sensation in the international market which was giving good returns to all the stake holders. He said the RGCA was taking up projects for sustainable development of aquaculture with the support of technology. He said focus was being laid on some other species which have started yielding results. He said the Aquatic Quarantine Facility (AQF) at Neelankaral near Chennai was one of the best labs in the world for L Vannamei.
Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy is expected to inaugurate the Aquaria here on Friday in which Union minister of state for commerce D Purandeswari will take part.
source: htptp://www.timesofindia,indiatimes.com / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / February 08th, 2013