Field workers of MPEDA examining the growth of Tilapia fish in a tank at Manikonda near Vijayawada. | Photo Credit: V. Raju more-in The cargo facility launched at the Vijayawada International Airport is expected to boost seafood exports from the State. The facility is a long-pending dream of the aqua farmers of the East and West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and Nellore districts. At present, aqua producers are exporting frozen shrimp, chilled items, frozen fin fish, live items such as crabs from Krishnapatnam, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Kakinada, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and other ports. “We are exporting to the European Union, Japan, China, the U.S., West Asia and other countries. The service will definitely enhance exports,” say farmers. Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), AP Regional Division, Joint Director P. Anil Kumar said the service would help the farmers and exporters to transport the produce in hours to the international markets. “Many aqua farmers are importing shrimp and crab seed from quarantines. Due to lengthy transportation, the mortality rate is high and the farmers are suffering losses. The air cargo will minimise the transportation time,” he told The Hindu. “Farmers are exporting aqua products worth thousands of crores from the Visakhapatnam and the Krishnapatnam ports. In 2015 and 2016, seafood of worth more than ?10,000 crore was exported,” Mr. Anil Kumar said. MPEDA Assistant Director P. Brahmeswara Rao said chilled items worth ?1,693 crore were exported and produce valued ?1.918 crore was transported from the Chennai port in 2016-17 and 2015-16 respectively. “We are cultivating mud crabs and importing seed from Chennai and exporting through Krishnapatnam and Chennai ports. Crab farmers are getting ?400 to ?500 per kg (live item), depending on the demand and the size of the crab in the international market,” said a farmer T. Krishna Rao of Bantumilli. Another farmer S. Venkata Narayana of Nagayalanka said it would take five days to export the produce to other countries. “But now we can transport the crabs in one or two days.”

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