India's seafood exports to the United States fell sharply in the fiscal year ending in March, while shipments to China surged, according to data released last week, showing the impact of Washington's tariffs on Indian exports and China's decision to suspend Japanese seafood imports, experts say.

Although the US retained its position as India's largest seafood market, shipments to the country declined 19.8 percent by volume and 14.5 percent in value terms following the so-called US reciprocal tariffs, data from the Marine Products Export Development Authority, or MPEDA, a statutory body under India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry, revealed.

Meanwhile, exports to China recorded impressive growth in the 2025-26 fiscal year as they surged 22.7 percent in value.

A commerce ministry statement did not provide the absolute number for the exports to China, but in the previous fiscal year (2024-25), India's seafood shipments to that market stood at $1.27 billion.

"US tariff pressure and China's strong domestic demand are the major reasons behind the surge in Indian seafood exports to China," T. R. Gibinkumar, secretary of MPEDA, told China Daily.

To offset the impact of the US tariffs, Indian exporters tried to boost shipments to alternative markets, including China. Late last year, China reimposed a ban on imports of Japanese seafood, a move that gave Indian exporters a big boost.

China's huge domestic demand has encouraged Indian exporters to scale up shipments to that market, said Gibinkumar.

The surge in shipments to China, as well as robust growth in shipments to other markets such as Europe and Southeast Asia, helped India's total marine product exports reach a record $8.28 billion in the fiscal year ending in March, according to MPEDA data.

Several individual markets registered strong double-digit growth, underscoring a clear shift toward diversification amid trade headwinds in traditional markets.

Industry experts said the US tariff shock has elevated China's importance to Indian exporters.

"China has a huge domestic demand. Transportation costs to China are cheaper than to other countries as China is nearer to India," said K. N. Raghavan, secretary-general of the Seafood Exporters Association of India.

Indian exporters are exploring multiple avenues. Countries other than China are willing to increase the share of marine imports from India, but China's huge domestic demand is driving up export volumes, said Sankar Paul, who has been exporting seafood to China for the last 15 years.

India mainly exports frozen shrimp, fish, cuttlefish, squid, dried items, and live and chilled items. Of these, frozen shrimp is the largest exported marine product and has a huge demand in China, exporters said, adding that China is providing Indian shrimp farmers and processors with a critical outlet for their produce.

Last year, senior MPEDA officials and as many as 48 Indian seafood exporters took part in the China Fisheries & Seafood Expo held in the Chinese city of Qingdao.

The positive response of Chinese buyers to Indian seafood and sustainable practices demonstrated at the expo signals promising growth potential, said Gibinkumar, the MPEDA secretary.

The writer is a freelance journalist for China Daily.

Xu Weiwei in Hong Kong contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at vivienxu@chinadailyapac.com.