(fis.com) Exports of fish and fish products during July-May (2011-12) reached USD 296.7 million compared to USD 267.4 million recorded during the same period the prior fiscal year, according to figures released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
This 11 per cent jump in exports was the result of an increase in value-added fish products and enterprises venturing into new markets.
Seafood exports during May 2012 stood at USD 37.4 million against the USD 32.9 million of May 2011.
Exporters have been conducting business with the following new markets: Egypt, the Middle East and Indonesia. In addition, China has begun buying higher quantities of high value-products like cuttlefish, scads and shrimp from Pakistan, said Chairman Pakistan Fisheries Exporters Association Faisal Iftikhar.
In July, fishing will be banned to protect shrimp and other species during their breeding season.
According to sources in the industry, the European Union (EU) may soon lift the ban on imports from Pakistan, as the parties have been holding talks on the technical aspects. If the EU lifts the ban, Pakistan’s profits would be able to rise quickly, as exporters often make good deals when selling their products to the EU market.
The EU banned the import of Pakistani seafood way back in 2007, when an EU mission visited the country and found Pakistan’s seafood storage to be unhygienic and determined that it failed to maintain the cold chain, among other issues. Exports to the EU have remained banned since then. Pakistan’s exports to EU member countries stood at around USD 50 million in 2006.
“If exports to EU had continued, the country would have earned at least USD 50 millions more,” said one official of Marine Fisheries Department.
Continued seafood sales to the EU would have led to sales of more than USD 300 million, as kidney shrimp did not fetch good prices in other market compared to EU. Out of total export of USD 194 million in 2005-06, exports to EU made up over 25 per cent with USD 50.06 million.
Pakistan’s seafood exports have since increased as exporters discovered new buyers, yet these fetch lower prices.