Among the echinoderms, holothurians are commercially
imnortant. Certain species of holothurians are processed and the
processed material is known as Beche-de-mer or Trepang in trade
parlance. Beche-de-mer is considered a Chinese delicacy. At
present, Indie is earning a foreign exchange of more than one
crore rupees by exporting Beche-de-mer . This product has no
internal market. It has been introduced by the Chinese and is in
existence in the Gulf of Manner and Palk Bay for more than one
thousand years. It has high nutritive value and also considered
to have certain medicinal properties. The main international
markets are Hongkong, Singapore and Malaysia
