India’s indigenous black tiger shrimp is staging a major commercial comeback in premium global markets after a decade-long decline caused by white spot syndrome virus outbreaks and strict import bans by Japan and the US. From an export trough of $108.9 million in 2020-21, black tiger exports surged more than fourfold to reach $568.31 million (61,780 tonnes) in 2025-26, marking a 13-year volume high. The Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) engineered this revival by establishing a specialized nucleus breeding center in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to supply pathogen-free parent stock to domestic hatcheries, successfully training farmers in antibiotic-free methods. While the introduced Vannamei shrimp species continues to dominate India’s marine earnings, generating $4.76 billion and accounting for over 65% of seafood export value in FY26, expanding black tiger sales into China and the EU is expected to accelerate further. Overall, India hit record-high marine exports of $8.46 billion in FY26, heavily anchored by frozen shrimp.