Seafood exporters from Telugu states seek central aid

HYDERABAD:

Seafood

exporters from

Telugu

states have sought financial assistance from the Centre, as demand from Europe, USA and China has taken a serious hit.

“Several small exporters and a few large players have been affected as sales have dropped from more than 100 shipments to 20 shipments now,” a senior official from Seafood Exporters Association of India told TOI.

Exporters from the two Telugu states are afraid they might be penalized if they don’t ship the goods in the given time period. “The government should relax the deadline for shipping. Companies with good presence in Chinese and European markets were impacted as demand has fallen significantly since February,” he added.

The worsening situation due to Covid-19 could hamper the movement of marine consignments to foreign destinations. “The lockdowns have also led to wholesalers and processors declining our products,” said Vishwanath, a seafood exporter from Zaheerabad. The European market has totally cut itself off and there is negligible procurement from the Chinese market. However, representatives of seafood associations said restaurants in China had reopened and that should result in increase in exporters business