April 4, 2012

During the first eight months of current fiscal year (2011-12), Pakistan's exports of fish and fish preparations surged by 14.69% against the corresponding period of last year.

The exports of fish and fish preparations were recorded at US$195.284 million during July-February (2011-12) as against the exports of US$170.274 million during July-February (2010-11), according to data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

However, in terms of quantity, the fish exports witnessed nominal increase of 0.34% by going up from 74,265 tonnes to 74,518 tonnes.

On monthly basis, the seafood exports also witnessed positive growth of 13.88% during February 2012 when compared to the same month of last year.

The fish exports during February 2012 were recorded at US$21 million against the exports of US$18.441 million during February 2011. However, as compared to the exports of US$21.401 million recorded during January 2012, the exports during February witnessed negative growth of 1.35%, the data revealed.

In terms of quantity, the fish exports increased by 5.57% in February 2012 when compared to the exports of February 2011, however decreased by 2.62% when compared to the exports of January 2012.

The overall food exports from the country witnessed nominal increase of 0.59% during the first eight months by going up from US$2.601 billion during July-February (2010-11) to US$2.616 billion in July-February (2011-12).

The major food products that witnessed positive growth in exports included the food products that witnessed increase in exports during the period under review included rice (other than basmati), exports of which increased by 2.91%, fruits (15.02%), leguminous vegetables (1,315%), tobacco (37.85%), oil, seeds, nuts and kernels (59.84%), meat and meat preparation (16.46%) and other food products (45.80%).

The commodities that witnessed negative growth in exports included basmati rice (17.78%), vegetables (36.69%), wheat (53.22%) and spices (1.49%). The overall exports from the country during the period under review witnessed negative growth of 0.48% by going down from US$15.263 billion to US$15.189 billion. The country's imports during the period increased by 16.36% from US$25.600 billion to US$29.788 billion.

Based on the figures, the trade deficit during the first eight months of the current fiscal year was recorded at US$14.599 billion, against the deficit of US$10.337 billion last year, showing an increase of 41.23%.