The Impact of COVID-19 on the Seafood Industries of India, Japan and Malaysia and a Global Assessment

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Seafood Industries of India, Japan and Malaysia and a Global Assessment
  IJETT-book-cover           
  
© 2025 by IJETT Journal
Volume-73 Issue-8
Year of Publication : 2025
Author : Zameer Shervani, Ho Soon Min
DOI : 10.14445/22315381/IJETT-V73I8P128

How to Cite?
Zameer Shervani, Ho Soon Min,"The Impact of COVID-19 on the Seafood Industries of India, Japan and Malaysia and a Global Assessment", International Journal of Engineering Trends and Technology, vol. 73, no. 8, pp.333-341, 2025. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/22315381/IJETT-V73I8P128

Abstract
The seafood industry is vital for enhancing the economies of countries globally. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the seafood trade, causing serious economic losses worldwide. This article examines the effects of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak on seafood exports in India, Japan, and Malaysia. The study compares the volume (metric tons) and value (US dollar (billion), Indian rupee (million), and Malaysian ringgit (billion) of seafood exports around the Fiscal Year (FY) of the outbreak. As the virus spread, exports decreased in Japan and India, but after it ended, they rose again. Malaysian seafood exports increased slightly in 2022 but did not reach pre-pandemic levels. During the fiscal year 2022-2023, India's export value hit an all-time high of 8.09 billion US dollars, and the volume reached 1,735,289 metric tons. Japan's exports decreased from 287.31 billion yen in 2019 to 227.6 billion yen in 2020. After the pandemic ended in 2023, it reached a record high of 390.09 billion yen. The Malaysian fishing sector's contribution to GDP dropped from 12.12 billion ringgit in 2019 to 11.29 billion in 2020. In 2021, it nearly remained the same (11.25 billion ringgit). Production has decreased over the past two years because of the outbreak. In 2022, it recovered to an amount of 11.53 billion ringgit. Regional Fishery Bodies (RFBs), which include Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) and Regional Fisheries Advisory Bodies (RFABs), evaluated the effects of COVID-19 on the aquaculture and fishing sector worldwide. The survey was conducted in April and November 2020. More participants expressed concern in April than in November about the pandemic affecting the management and research of the fish industry. In general, more than 60% of respondents expressed concern about decreasing employment levels and conditions in the fisheries and aquaculture sector. The demand for seafood might have decreased in the range of 36% to 82% in domestic and export markets. The expected impact of COVID-19 on price remained low, ranging from 26.3% to 36.4%.

Keywords
COVID-19, Impact on economy, Seafood trade, Indian seafood, Human and illness, Human and disease, Healthy lifestyle.

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