With a huge potential of exporting seafood from the State, the Seafood Exporters’ Association, Odisha Region (SEAI-OR) is eying a 10-fold rise in export during next three years, provided necessary infrastructure, land and other support are available to this sector.
SEAI-OR president Gorachand Mohanty, while presenting the State’s seafood export scenario to Chief Secretary JK Mohapatra recently, said the State would export seafood worth Rs1,000 crore during 2013-14 as against worth Rs606 crore in 2010-11 and Rs850 crore worth of seafood in 2011-12.
Mohanty said Odisha has the potential to increase the seafood export to Rs10,000 crore in next three years with State support. He urged for Government help to improve current productivity of prawn in the State from 1.6 tonnes to 10 tonnes per hectare by undertaking white shrimp/vannamei culture, which requires 25HP aerators per hectare and an uninterrupted power supply.
The Chief Secretary asked Energy Department Principal Secretary PK Jena and Gridco CMD Hemant Sharma to help seafood exporters in this regard.
Since the State has already formulated a Brackish Water lease Policy, the Chief Secretary advised the SEAI-OR to encourage farmers to apply for lease of land while officials of the Department of Revenue were asked to expeditiously process sanction of lease.
The SEAI-OR president pointed out that the present land lease policy has omitted ‘Company’ in the eligibility criteria for applying for lease and wanted its modification. Mohapatra asked the concerned officers to examine the suggestion. Mohanty also urged for aquaculture term loan ceiling of Rs10 lakh per person to be enhanced to Rs15lakh. The Chief Secretary advised ACS Finance UN Behera to examine the proposal, said sources.