USSEC Country Director – India Dr. P. E. Vijay Anand and R. Umakanth, USSEC Aquaculture Consultant – India, had an article published in the September/October 2014 edition of Aqua Culture Asia Pacific Magazine.
The story, “Shaping India’s Aquaculture Factor,” was co-written by the two consultants and discussed actions and strategies that will significantly steer India toward positive growth in the aquaculture industry and utilize feed production capacity.
Although India is the second highest aquaculture producing country, Dr. Anand and Mr. Umakanth argue that India’s production could be better.  The article discusses changes toward modernization; aquaculture feed demand; feed utilization plan; small fish feed subsector; fed vs. non-fed species; post-harvest handling and marketing; domestic market; fish protein; diversification of culture systems; new feed market; raw material input; and water resources.  In addition, the authors mention that there is an ongoing debate in data that negatively impacts business planning and market assessments.  Because India’s government and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) report different estimates, India’s aquaculture production data reporting is often very different, making industry planning ineffective.
The article is based on a presentation that was given by Dr. Anand and Mr. Umakanth at Aqua India 2014 in Chennai in January.  Dr. Anand says, “In addition to the activities we conduct, I think [these articles are] an additional way to reach the market and influence them in a manner that is a win-win to USSEC and the industry.”
Aqua Culture Asia Pacific is a regional publication focused on commercial aquaculture and is published bimonthly.  Circulation is 3,500 print copies with approximately 10,500 readers per issue.
Shaping India's Aquaculture; in Aquaculture Asia Pacific; Sept-Oct 2014; Volume 10 (5)