Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA)

The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) is the Government of India body that promotes the export of seafood. It is a statutory body, which means it was created by a law of Parliament: the MPEDA Act, 1972. It works under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and its headquarters is in Kochi, Kerala. In simple words, MPEDA helps Indian seafood reach foreign markets and makes sure the industry meets the rules of those markets.

Why was MPEDA created?

In the early 1970s, seafood exports were growing, but the industry was scattered and quality standards were weak. Buyers abroad want safe, high-quality and legally caught fish. Small exporters could not handle market research, quality rules and foreign regulations alone. So the government created one specialised body to develop the whole seafood export chain, from the boat or the pond to the foreign buyer.

What does MPEDA do?

• Registration: It registers seafood exporters, processing plants, storage units and fishing vessels. Only registered exporters can export marine products.
• Standards and quality: It sets and promotes quality standards for processing and packaging, and helps the industry meet the rules of foreign markets.
• Market promotion: It runs trade fairs and buyer-seller meets, and studies foreign markets to find new buyers.
• Aquaculture support: It promotes shrimp and fish farming for export, including better seed, feed and disease control.
• Certification and traceability: It runs the system to validate catch certificates for exports to the EU and the UK, now including the new digital catch data platform.
• Research and training: The Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture (RGCA) works as its research and development arm. Training for fishers and farmers is given through bodies like NETFISH and NaCSA (National Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture).

How the seafood export chain works

Imagine a box of frozen shrimp going from Andhra Pradesh to Belgium:

1. Shrimp is grown in a pond or fish is caught at sea.
2. It is brought to an MPEDA-registered processing plant, cleaned, frozen and packed.
3. A health certificate shows it is safe to eat. If it is wild-caught and going to the EU or UK, a catch certificate proves it was caught legally.
4. A registered exporter ships it to the foreign buyer. MPEDA supports almost every step of this chain.

India's seafood exports: the key facts

• In FY 2025-26, India exported a record 19.72 lakh tonnes of seafood, worth ₹73,890.46 crore (about US$ 8.46 billion), according to MPEDA's updated figures.
• Frozen shrimp is the biggest item. It earned about US$ 5.51 billion, more than two-thirds of export earnings, by provisional figures.
• The United States and China are among the largest buyers. The EU is also a major market: in FY26 it (including the UK) took 15% of India's seafood exports by volume and 18.83% by value.
• Most Indian shrimp exports are farmed (mainly vannamei shrimp), while items like cuttlefish and squid are wild-caught.

India's fisheries setup

• The Department of Fisheries, under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, handles fisheries development and production.
• The Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), launched in 2020, is the main scheme to develop fisheries and aquaculture.
• MPEDA handles the export side. The Export Inspection Council (EIC) is India's official body for export health certification.

Commonly confused concepts

• MPEDA vs APEDA: MPEDA (1972) promotes marine products exports. APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, 1985) promotes exports of farm and processed food products. Both are statutory bodies under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• MPEDA vs Department of Fisheries: MPEDA is about exports and works under the Commerce Ministry. The Department of Fisheries is about fish production, fishers' welfare and schemes like PMMSY.
• MPEDA vs Export Inspection Council (EIC): EIC certifies that export food is safe and meets quality and health standards. MPEDA promotes exports and validates catch certificates.
• Statutory body vs Export Promotion Council: MPEDA is created by an Act of Parliament. Export Promotion Councils are associations of exporters registered as companies or societies.

Issues, criticism and the way forward

• Dependence on shrimp and a few markets: Heavy reliance on shrimp and on large buyers like the US makes exports vulnerable to tariffs, anti-dumping duties and sudden rule changes.
• Rising compliance demands: Rules on antibiotic residues, traceability and IUU fishing keep getting stricter. Small exporters struggle with the cost.
• Wild-catch restrictions: Wild-caught shrimp from India has faced US import restrictions over sea turtle protection. Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) are nets with an escape hatch for turtles.
• Low value addition: Much of India's seafood is exported frozen in bulk. More ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat products could earn more.
• Way forward: Diversify markets (EU, UK, Middle East, East Asia), invest in value addition and cold chains, use digital traceability, and help small fishers and farmers meet global standards.

Concepts to Know

• Statutory body: A body created by an Act of Parliament or a state legislature. Its powers come from that law.
• Aquaculture: Farming fish, shrimp or other water animals in ponds, tanks or enclosed sea areas, instead of catching them from the wild.
• Value addition: Processing a raw product into something worth more, such as turning raw shrimp into breaded, ready-to-fry shrimp.
• Anti-dumping duty: An extra import tax a country puts on goods it believes are being sold below their fair price.
• Surimi: A paste made from fish meat, used to make products like imitation crab sticks.