New Delhi, May 14 (IANS). The Commerce and Industry Ministry on Thursday said that the European Union has included India in its revised draft list, due to which India will now be able to continue exporting aquaculture products to the EU market.
The proposed inclusion of India is a major positive step for the country’s seafood export sector and reflects the EU’s confidence in India’s regulatory systems, monitoring mechanisms and food safety standards.
Once formally adopted by the European Commission, the revised regulation is expected to ensure uninterrupted exports of Indian fishery products to the EU market even after September 2026, the ministry said in the statement.
EU is one of the major destinations for Indian seafood exports. It emerged as the third largest market for Indian seafood products in the year 2025-26, with the total export value recorded at US $ 1.593 billion and the contribution of EU in this was 18.94 percent.
Exports to the EU witnessed strong growth over 2024-25, with export value increasing by 41.45 per cent and export volume increasing by 38.29 per cent. In this, farm-raised lobsters had the highest share in exports.
The EU move aims to address concerns raised by the lapse in implementation regulation (EU) issued on 4 October 2024. The earlier regulation did not include India in the list of third countries that were allowed to export products of animal origin for human consumption from September 2026.
The European Commission explained in its press release that this revised list only includes countries that have effectively implemented the European ban on antimicrobial use in animals used in food production. These countries have also provided the necessary guarantees and assurances under EU rules.
The ministry said this development can also be seen as a recognition of the consistent efforts made by organizations such as the Department of Commerce, Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) and Export Inspection Council (EIC) to strengthen regulatory compliance and promote responsible fishing practices.
–IANS
abs/
