Officials of the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) are disappointed for not being invited to the Seafood Festival being organised by the State government.
The Fisheries Department, in association with Bhoomi Organics, which is the knowledge partner for the event, is organising the second Seafood Festival, at the A Convention Centre here.
The festival, which began on July 28, will continue up to July 31. Aqua farmers, stakeholders, leaders of various shrimp and fish farmers’ associations were participating.
Fisheries Minister Seediri Appala Raju, who inaugurated the festival, said that Andhra Pradesh topped the country by exporting 50 lakh tonnes of seafood.
The Fisheries Department arranged the stalls. An unlimited seafood buffet was arranged for the fish and shrimp lovers thronging the festival.
“In the first Seafood Festival, we had arranged a stall and explained about the protein values in shrimp, fish, crab and squid to the visitors. But this year, we have not received any invitation,” MPEDA Regional Joint Director A. Jeya Bal said.
Bhoomi Organics managing director M. Raghuram said no department was invited.
“A.P. is having 974 km of coast, and we are leading in seafood exports to the U.S., China, Thailand, the European Union and many other countries. We would have arranged stalls with live fish and cooked various varieties, besides giving a demo on the importance of consuming seafood,” Mr. Jeya Bal said.
