【Text by Observers Network, Qi Qian】

According to Reuters and India's First Post, on November 19 local time, Indian seafood exporters' stock prices surged as high as 11%.

The reports suggest that China's suspension of imports of Japanese seafood may severely impact Japanese companies hoping to regain the Chinese market, where the Chinese market accounted for over 20% of Japan's seafood exports. At the same time, India sees this as a positive development, believing that China may shift its demand to alternative suppliers such as India.

It is reported that India's total seafood exports last year reached 7.4 billion U.S. dollars, with shrimp contributing 40% of the value.

The United States is India's largest seafood market, accounting for about one-third, and Indian exporters supply major U.S. retail chains including Walmart and Kroger. However, since August this year, the Trump administration has imposed tariffs of up to 50% on Indian seafood, placing significant tariff pressure on exporters. According to official Indian data, the tariffs caused a nearly 9% decline in India's seafood exports to the U.S. in October.

Under tariff pressures, last week, the Indian government approved a spending plan of 450.6 billion rupees to support export-oriented industries such as textiles, jewelry, and seafood (especially shrimp), which are labor-intensive.

Reuters said that potential growth in Chinese demand could provide a boost for Indian seafood exporters.

On the 19th, the stock price of Indian seafood exporter Avanti Feeds closed up about 10%, marking the largest single-day increase in over two months. Coastal Corporation rose 5%, and the company had previously announced in April plans to increase exports to markets such as China to reduce dependence on the U.S. market.

Vincent K. Andrews, an analyst at Indian financial services company Geojit, said that due to tariff issues affecting exports, Indian companies have been seeking to diversify their export markets, and any new opportunities would be beneficial for the industry.

Indian media photo

In fact, the Indian seafood export industry has long targeted the Chinese market.

According to another report from India's Economic Times, in recent times, the Indian seafood industry has been urging the Indian government to provide assistance to promote the diversification of export markets.

At the beginning of November, Ram Mohan, director of the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) of India, stated that although Indian exports of seafood to the U.S. declined by nearly 6% during the period from April to September this year due to high tariffs, exports to China, Vietnam, and Thailand saw significant growth. He said that this indicates that India's trade focus is shifting towards Asian markets.

According to Japan's NHK, on the 19th, the Chinese government formally notified Japan of the suspension of imports of Japanese seafood. NHK reported that this could be one of the countermeasures taken by the Chinese government against Japanese Prime Minister Takashima Hayato's previous remarks about "Taiwan's affairs."

Japanese government officials revealed that China informed Japan of this decision on the same day, citing the need to assess the monitoring of nuclear wastewater treatment at Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Kyodo News reported that this decision was conveyed through formal diplomatic channels on the same morning.

On the same day, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning responded to related questions, stating: "As far as I understand, Japan had previously promised to fulfill the regulatory responsibilities for seafood exports to China, ensuring product quality and safety, which is a prerequisite for Japanese seafood exports to China. However, Japan has not provided the technical materials it had promised."

Mao Ning emphasized that recently, due to Japanese Prime Minister Takashima Hayato's regressive actions and erroneous statements on major issues such as Taiwan, causing strong public anger among the Chinese people. Under the current circumstances, even if Japanese seafood is exported to China, there will be no market.

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