MPEDA in Kochi: What India's Seafood Export Authority Does and How to Register

MPEDA, the Marine Products Export Development Authority, is the statutory body that promotes and regulates India's seafood exports, and it runs the whole operation from MPEDA House on Panampilly Avenue in Panampilly Nagar, Kochi 682036. It was constituted in August 1972 under the MPEDA Act, 1972, works under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and oversees a trade that shipped 19,72,018 tonnes of seafood worth Rs 73,890.46 crore (US$ 8.46 billion) in 2025-26, an all-time high by both volume and value.

• What is MPEDA and who runs it?
• What is the role of MPEDA?
• How much seafood does India export?
• Why is MPEDA headquartered in Kochi?
• How do I register with MPEDA as an exporter?

What is MPEDA and who runs it?

MPEDA was set up by the Central Government under Section 4(1) of the Marine Products Export Development Authority Act, 1972 (Act 13 of 1972). It replaced the Marine Products Export Promotion Council. The Authority is headed by a Chairman appointed by the Centre, and its board includes Members of Parliament, representatives of several Union ministries and members from the maritime states. Beyond the head office, it has regional divisions in coastal states (Kochi's own regional division sits on the 4th floor of the same building), plus trade promotion offices in New Delhi, Tokyo and New York.

What is the role of MPEDA?

In plain terms, MPEDA's job is to sell more Indian seafood abroad and make sure what leaves the country meets buyers' standards. Its own citizen's charter and the 1972 Act list the main functions:

• Registration: exporters, fishing vessels, processing plants, storage premises, ice plants and conveyances.
• Quality and certification: fixing export standards, inspecting products, issuing catch certificates and pre-harvest test certificates for farmed produce.
• Aquaculture: enrolling farms and hatcheries and promoting export-oriented aquaculture. Its research arm, the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture, works on species such as seabass, mud crab and tilapia.
• Market promotion: taking Indian seafood to overseas buyers, including the biennial India International Seafood Show it organises with the Seafood Exporters Association of India.
• Financial assistance and data: support for processing infrastructure, and collecting and publishing export statistics.

How much seafood does India export?

MPEDA released the 2025-26 figures in Kochi on 1 June 2026. As of October 2026, these are the latest full-year numbers:

Item (2025-26)	Figure
Total seafood exports	19,72,018 tonnes, Rs 73,890.46 crore (US$ 8.46 billion)
Frozen shrimp	7,92,647 tonnes, US$ 5,624.48 million (66.52% of dollar earnings)
Frozen fish	US$ 643.70 million
Dried items	US$ 577.44 million
Largest market by value	USA, US$ 2,328.74 million (down 14.22% in dollar terms)
Largest market by volume	China, 4,90,369 tonnes
Top seafood ports	Vizag, JNPT and Kochi

For comparison, 2024-25 closed at about 16,98,170 tonnes and US$ 7.45 billion, so the jump is real. The honest caveat: two-thirds of the money still comes from one product, shrimp, and exports to the biggest buyer, the US, fell sharply. That is a concentration risk, not a comfortable lead.

Why is MPEDA headquartered in Kochi?

MPEDA does not publish an official reason, but the city around it makes the case. Kochi is one of the three ports handling the most seafood cargo, according to MPEDA's own 2025-26 figures. The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute has been headquartered in Kochi since 1971, and ICAR's Central Institute of Fisheries Technology sits on Willingdon Island, next to the Cochin Port Authority. Kochi also hosts another Commerce Ministry export body, the Spices Board in Palarivattom, which makes the city a natural base for export-facing government bodies.

How do I register with MPEDA as an exporter?

Registration as an exporter is granted under Section 9(2)(h) of the MPEDA Act read with Rules 40 to 42 of the MPEDA Rules, 1972, and applications are filed online through the e-MPEDA portal. As of October 2026, MPEDA's published requirements look like this:

• Get an IEC first: an Importer Exporter Code from DGFT is one of the required documents.
• Pick your category: Manufacturer Exporter (owns or contracts an approved processing plant), Merchant Exporter (uses surplus capacity at an approved facility), Route Through Merchant Exporter, or Ornamental Fish Exporter.
• Fees: a registration fee of Rs 5,000, plus a Rs 200 online application fee listed for Manufacturer Exporters. Merchant Exporters must also post a bank guarantee of Rs 25 lakh for frozen and value-added products, or Rs 5 lakh for chilled, dried and other products.
• Documents: photo, address proof, a scheduled bank's solvency certificate, a purchase order and the processing plant's registration certificates.
• Timeline: the citizen's charter targets 15 working days for a Merchant Exporter certificate and 20 for a Manufacturer Exporter.

For a small Kochi trader, that Rs 25 lakh guarantee is the real barrier, not the paperwork. Applications are verified by MPEDA's regional divisions before approval at head office, and Kochi's regional division works out of the same Panampilly Nagar building. Seafood processors and exporters already operating in the city appear in our Kochi Business Directory.