Seafood Export – Business Plan

What is Export?

Export means shipping of goods from the port of one country to the port of another country. The sender of goods and services is called the exporter and the overseas-based buyer is referred to as the importer. The goods and services which are to be imported or exported can range from a wide variety of utilities from small tools to heavy machinery, from raw materials to finished products, from clothes to food. Read the basics of Export here.

This particular article focuses on exporting seafood. There is a great diversity of seafood ranging from fishes like Bombay duck, pomfret, etc., roe such as lumpfish roe, shad roe, etc., shellfish like crayfish, lobster, oysters, and many more; and echinoderms such as sea cucumber and sea urchin.

1. Requirements for Exporting Seafood

If you are opting for a business venture in exporting seafood, you will have to obtain official assurances or export certificates. It is important to comply with Overseas Market Access Requirements (OMARs), which are specific to each destination country and meeting General Requirements for Export (GREX).

Seafood products are subjected to strict licensing rules in general. Once you avail yourself of a license, you must meet the export requirements of destination countries which also require labeling of foods containing allergenic substances.

Labeling is recommended especially for seafood that contains abalone, cuttlefish, salmon roe, shrimp, crab, salmon, and mackerel as raw materials.

Apart from labeling, every country has certain general principles—inspection testing and other regulatory processes—to ensure compliance.

2. Exporting with Safety

Good hygienic practices in handling and transportation of seafood is a pre-requisite and ample refrigeration throughout these processes should be maintained. The “Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point” (HACCP)is a system to ensure food safety and quality. This system has gained worldwide recognition as it is the most cost-effective and reliable system available.

It is based on the identification of risks, minimizing those risks through the design and layout of the physical environment in which high standards of hygiene can be assured; it sets measurable standards and establishes monitoring systems.

HACCP is a competent flexible system that can be successfully applied at all the critical stages—from harvesting until the time it reaches the consumer.

The exporter must ensure that their food handling, processing, and transportation facilities fulfill the requisite standards. Assuring high standards for quality and safety is good economics, minimizing losses that result from spoilage, damage to trade and from illness among its consumers.

3. Exporting Seafood in India

India is blessed with a vast coastline spread well over four thousand miles. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation report of 2011, India’s total fishery production is about 8.88 million tons from both capture and aquaculture. India’s seafood industry is becoming one of the largest suppliers of quality seafood to all the major markets of the world. India has world-class seafood processing plants that follow quality control regimes in adherence to stringent international regulatory requirements.

With the growing demand for Indian seafood products across the world, the dynamics of the seafood business in India is changing at a rapid pace. 

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There is tremendous growth in the resources and infrastructure of the Indian seafood industry today and has proven to be a highly profitable venture.

Contact our Business consultants for more about Seafood Export.