July 27, 2012

 

Pakistan's 2011-12 seafood export up 6.53%

 

 

As China's import from Pakistan witnessed a healthy growth, Pakistan's seafood export in the fiscal year 2011-12 hit a historic mark of US$315.525 million, up by 6.53% or US$19.343 million.

 

"China's import of cuttlefish and squid from Pakistan has swelled around 90% within a short period," Chairman Pak Fisheries Exporters Association (PakFEA) Faisal Iftikhar held here the other day.

 

He said China had also grown a greater appeal for a variety of Pakistani shrimps which helped the country reach the record high export mark. The growing demand from China, he added had quelled the local exporters' preference to export seafood to the recession-hit EU.

 

Pakistan's seafood export during the fiscal year (FY) 2010-11 was US$296.182 million, which had mounted to US$315.525 million in FY 2011-12, said fisheries officials.

 

According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, in terms of quantity, the country's seafood export fell by 7% or 9,437 tonnes to 124,489 tonnes during FY 2012 as compared to export of 133,926 tonnes in FY 2011.

 

On the decline in seafood export volume, Faisal Iftikhar said that global price of fisheries products increased between 20-50% in FY 2012 and the average unit price of seafood on the global market also surged during the last 12 months.

 

He said the volume of seafood export had however remained lower than the last year's fisheries export.

 

In June 2012, the country's seafood export fell by 50% or 18.71 million as compared to export of 37.453 million in May 2012. Similarly, on yearly basis, the country's seafood export slumped by 34% or US$10.012 million in June 2012 if compared with the commodity's export of US$28.755 million in June 2011, the statistics said.

 

The Chairman PakFEA further said that the country's long-standing demand for reopening of EU markets for its exporters had decreased with the increasing export to China on higher rates.

 

"EU cannot offer the price China pays to Pakistani exporters for cuttlefish, squid and a variety of shrimp products," he said, adding that local exporters had also stopped making efforts towards resumption of seafood export to the EU.

 

He said the Middle East, Far East and Egypt were the greater markets for Pakistani seafood exports, suggesting that focus on building and retaining these markets would benefit the country.