(brecorder) Although Pakistan's seafood exports have grown considerably even after the EU ban, yet this achievement cannot be attributed to real increase in terms of value.
Pakistan is still getting lower prices for its fishery products than neighbouring countries such as India. The boost in value can mainly be attributed to the weakening of the rupee against the dollar and export of the last bit of edible fish in Pakistan waters to cheap markets such as China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and some other countries of the Far East, along with some chunk being exported to the Egypt and Middle East.
It's a good news that somehow the MFD has persuaded EU to lift the ban of seafood exports from Pakistan, but it must be noted that allowing one or two processing units is not going to resolve the problem, just as a swallow doesn't make a spring. The entire fisheries and fishing sector needs immediate steps for revamping and renovation. Unless this is done, it is doubtful if it will be possible to establish traceability and cold-chain.
Unfortunately, a look at the harbour shows no signs of improvement in the artisan fleets design or the technology employed in the processing units. The fish is still stashed on the dirty fish harbour floors and sold and transported with little or no ice. Most of the seafood processing units do not have adequate facilities for making ice and the ones who do have, their equipment is usually out of order and is just there to comply with the formalities. Almost all the processing units are run by obsolete freezing and cold storing machinery and equipment, as well as poorly insulated stores where the finished product is let to deteriorate due to rapid fluctuations in storage temperature. It has been noted that products from most of the processing plants and exporters can hardly fulfil the right kind of product core temperature requirements of the leading shipping companies such as APL. Other shipping lines are lax on this issue and would even accept half-frozen products for shipment which must be regularly checked before every shipment.
The EU continues to be the largest market for Pakistani shrimps and some kinds of fish. But with the dwindling stocks of shrimps as well as fish, it is doubtful if the steps taken to resume exports to the EU will not be done at the cost of conservation of stocks and destruction of our fauna and flora. A reasonable balance ought to be kept between indiscriminate catching of all kinds of fish and their seasons and conservation if the welfare of the industry is desired, before it is wiped off and the last fish is done with.