Let Duniakagyan walk you through the top 10 aquaculture companies in India.
You are involved in aquaculture when you farm aquatic organisms, mostly for commercial purposes. It allows you to cultivate anything, from aquatic plants and crustaceans to mollusks, fish, and more. This type of farming usually happens in a controlled environment through sustainable means. As of now, aquaculture is providing food and livelihood to millions of people worldwide. However, do not mistake aquaculture for commercial fishing, which involves harvesting wild fish.
The Components of Aquaculture
Let’s get into the details of aquaculture to help you better understand the concept.
1. Aquatic Organisms
The entire concept of aquaculture is based on the aquatic organisms being cultivated. Your options include fish like tilapia, trout, and catfish, or shellfish like oysters, clams, and mussels. You can even consider cultivating many types of seaweed like kelp, nori, and wakame, and freshwater plants such as water lettuce, water hyacinth, duckweed, lotus, water chestnut, watercress, and more.
2. Aquaculture Systems
Aquaculture happens in an aquaculture system. They can be ponds, tanks, cages, flow-through systems, or recirculating systems. Which system to choose depends on the type of organism you wish to farm, along with environmental factors like water temperature and depth. Ponds are the most common systems, often used to farm fish, shrimp, and a variety of other aquatic animals.
3. Feed and Nutrition
The quality and quantity of the yield in aquaculture depend largely on the nutrition the organisms under cultivation receive. You can provide them with plant-based or animal-based feed, subject to the type of organism you wish to cultivate. For example, fishmeal is ideal for carnivorous fish, such as salmon, trout, and tuna, while soybean meal works for herbivorous fish like tilapia and carp.
4. Water Quality
Water is an important component of aquaculture. After all, it hosts the farmed organisms and helps them grow and evolve. You need to be careful when choosing, monitoring, and managing water for aquaculture. Or else, the output will be low in quality as well as quantity. It should have the right level of salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, and ammonia, and be free of pollutants and pathogens.
5. Harvesting
When the yield matures, you need to harvest and process it using special equipment and methods. Different organisms require different methods and tools for harvesting. For example, dip nets work well for small organisms like shrimp and crayfish, while you need traps to catch crabs, lobsters, and other shellfish. Likewise, you might even need purging tanks to clean oysters and clams.
6. Environmental Friendliness
The long-term viability of aquaculture depends on how sustainably it is being practiced. Mind you, unfriendly environmental practices can lead to pollution and depletion of natural resources, which can cause the industry to collapse. The top aquaculture companies in India take steps to conserve water, manage waste, prevent diseases, and minimize the use of chemicals and other inputs.
Benefits of Aquaculture
Aquaculture brings an array of benefits to the table for everyone involved. These include:
1. Addresses Food Security
India has to look for alternative ways to feed its rapidly growing population. Here, aquaculture steps in, providing safe and nutritious food to meet the dietary needs of its people. Aquaculture not only addresses the issue of food security but also supports the growing demand for seafood in India.
2. Boosts the Economy
Aquaculture can provide a further boost to India’s already growing economy. It creates jobs for local communities in rural areas, which helps them improve their quality of life. Plus, it improves seafood production. This, in turn, boosts overall exports and brings down the country’s trade deficit.
3. Environmentally Friendly
Aquaculture is an environmentally-friendly and efficient way to farm fish. Herein, you use less land, water, and other resources than conventional fish farming. Also, it takes the pressure off the wild fish that have to deal with overfishing. This helps conserve the biodiversity of marine ecosystems.
4. Improves Quality & Taste
Aquaculture happens in a controlled environment. Herein, the aquaculture companies in India provide the right conditions and nutrition to the fish under cultivation. This helps improve the health of the fish and prevent disease outbreaks. So, you can rest assured of healthy and tasty seafood.
5. Helps in Fish Restocking
Traditional fish farming often puts certain fish species at risk of extinction. Here too, aquaculture has a role to play. It can offer fish for restocking natural water bodies, which allows for balancing the fish population. Had it not been for aquaculture, we would have lost several fish species forever.
Aquaculture Companies in India: Stats
If you want to start your own aquaculture company, it’s the best time to do so. As the stats present encouraging signs for the Indian aquaculture industry, you have reasons to put your act together. If the 2018 report of the National Fisheries Development Board is to go by, India ranks 2nd globally in aquaculture and 3rd in fisheries. The fishery market is worth USD 25.39 billion in 2023 and will grow at a CAGR of 10.23%. By 2030, the total aquaculture production is likely to reach 93.6 million metric tons from 47.2 million metric tons at present.
India produced a record 16.25 MMT of seafood in the financial year 2021-22, out of which 12.12 MMT through Inland Fisheries, and 4.13 MMT through Marine Fisheries. As of now, India is home to 1,548 fish landing centers, 677 cold storages with 450,220 MT of capacity, 45 Chilled Storages with 24,194 MT of capacity, 93 Dry Fish Storages with 39,481 MT of capacity, and 625 processing plants with 36,523.92 MT of capacity. The numbers are likely to increase rapidly in the years to come.
10 Top Aquaculture Companies in India
Now that you what aquaculture is, it’s time to discuss the top 10 aquaculture companies in India.
1. Apex Frozen Foods Ltd
Apex Frozen Foods started its operations in 1995 and went on to be one of India’s top aquaculture companies. The company exports shelf-stable, ready-to-cook & healthy shrimp to food processing businesses, retail outlets, eateries, and clubs in the US, the UK, and other countries in Europe and beyond. Apex Frozen’s yearly sales are a whooping INR 871 crores, with profits of about 500 crores.
Capacity:
Apex Frozen has a staggering 1,032 acres under shrimp farming in the state of Andhra Pradesh. It processes over 9,240 MTPA of shrimp yearly through an ultra-modern processing facility at Bapatla, Andhra Pradesh. To complement it, the company has put together cold storage facilities at Kakinada and Bapatla, besides a well-maintained fleet of vehicles with refrigeration capabilities.
Products:
Apex produces and exports two types of shrimp – Whiteleg shrimp and Black Tiger Shrimp. The company markets the Whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus Vannamei) under Bay Fresh, Bay Harvest, and BayPremium brands. All Apex Frozen products uphold the highest standards in quality and safety.
2. Avanti Feeds Ltd
Avanti Feeds Ltd is India’s leading player in the aquaculture sector, which is present in Andhra Pradesh, India. Certified by ISO, the company has two export units, two shrimp processing units, and five shrimp feed manufacturing units. The sales growth of this company is 21.69% in 3 years.
This company’s shares are listed on the NSE, or National Stock Exchange, and the BSE, or Bombay Stock Exchange. With all these operations, the company operates four windmills with a capacity of 3.2 MW.
3. Waterbase Ltd
Waterbase Limited was the first fully-integrated aquaculture company in India when it was founded in 1993. With technical assistance from LUXE, Taiwan, one of the world’s leading suppliers of fish feed and shrimp.
Leading universities and international aquaculture institutes partnered with the company. Many industry professionals have created industry-wide best practices in animal health care, agricultural services, development and research, product development, and product development.
4. Coastal Corporation Limited
Millions of people in Russia, China, Korea, Hong Kong, Australia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Europe, and the United States use Coastal Corporation Limited’s shrimp products. Coastal Corporation Limited is one of India’s top agricultural brands, with a capital of 234.90 crores.
From processing to sourcing, providing adulterated and superior quality shrimp to the international market, and packaging, the company uses cutting-edge technologies and industry best practices to uphold quality standards.
5. Zeal Aqua
In 2015, Zeal Aqua was the leading aquaculture firm with the highest shrimp production capacity, producing over 1500 tonnes of shrimp. Listed among India’s major aquaculture companies, this company comes out on top in Gujarat.
This company claims to use cutting-edge technology to offer the highest-quality shrimp to consumers and customers with a professional work ethic. Their gates have about 160 earthen ponds and 66 PE- technically advanced lines.
6. Uniroyal Marine Exports
Uniroyal Marine Exports Limited is classified as a non-government company and was incorporated on August 21, 1992. It is a public company and is registered with the Registrar of Companies, Ernakulam. This company is involved in preserving, processing, and producing fats, oils, fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, etc.
This company has 64,795,000 in paid-up capital, and the authorized share capital is Rs. 80,000,000. According to the records of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), The last general meeting (AGM) of Uniroyal Marine Exports Limited was held on September 26, 2020. The last balance sheet of this company was filed on March 31, 2020.
7. Smilax Industries
Smilax Industries was founded in 1994 by Chandaluru, who is currently working as a director of the company. Fish and shrimp feed are the core products of this company, and in the first quarter of the year, the company’s capital was 0.87 crore.
8. Adinath Bio Labs
A K Jai founded this company in 1985, and its headquarters are in Kolkata. Adinath Bio-Labs, Ltd. is primarily a pharmaceutical manufacturer, but it also produces chemicals and pharmaceutical raw materials for the aromatic and pharmaceutical sectors. Adinath Bio-Labs specializes in core products, which include liquids like peppermint and menthol oil.
9. Softech Infinium Solutions
Softech Infinium Solutions Limited, which was founded in 1992, offers Internet-related outsourcing services. The primary products of this company’s core business are shrimp feed, fish, orchards, farming, livestock, and aquaculture. The company was founded by Gopi Narayanan Yadav and has a market valuation of Rs 8 crore. Its headquarters are in Chennai, Madras.
10. BKV Industries
The company, formerly known as Bommidala Aquamarine Limited, is currently known as BKV Industries Limited. This company has been incorporated as a public limited company to promote industrial projects related to aquaculture. The company is recognized as one of the most profitable and progressive shrimp farming businesses in the world.
The Bommidala family has promoted this company for over four decades in various business lines. Bommidala Aquamarine Limited has launched an integrated project that will feature processing plants, in-house hatchery farms, and a marketing setup. The company has already completed the 12.5-hectare shrimp farm at Kuru Island, Isukapalli village, and Nellore in Andhra Pradesh.
Conclusion
Our article provides you with comprehensive information about aquaculture companies in India according to our research and data. Hopefully, this article will provide you with complete information about these companies.
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