Pakistan’s seafood exports dropped to USD 410 million (EUR 378.2 million) in value in 2023.
That total was down 17.4 percent from the 2022 fiscal year, in which Pakistani seafood exports reached USD 496.6 million (EUR 488.1 million), its record high, and far short of its USD 1 billion (EUR 922 million) goal.
Pakistan exported 200,709 metric tons of seafood in its 2023 fiscal year, down 6.4 percent from the 214,542 MT it exported in 2022, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The downswing has continued, with June 2024 exports decreasing 22.2 percent in value from USD 40 million (EUR 36.9 million) in June 2023 to USD 31 million (EUR 28.6 million), which was also down from the May 2024 figure of USD 37 million (EUR 34.1 million). Exports were also down 17 percent in volume in June 2024, dropping from 18,901 MT in June 2023 to 15,689 MT, according to PBS data.
In contrast, overall food exports from Pakistan rose 46.8 percent in 2023 year over year, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan, reaching USD 7.4 billion (EUR 6.8 billion).
Despite the overall drop in seafood exports, Pakistan’s shipments to China increased 13 percent in 2023, reaching USD 247.3 million (EUR 228.1 million) in value, up from USD 219.3 million (EUR 202.3 million) in 2022 and USD 139.3 million (EUR 128.5 million) in 2021. The top products exported to China were frozen fish, fresh crab, and frozen cuttlefish, as the world’s most populous country sought out alternative suppliers due to heightened tensions with its primary trading partners.
“This growth can be attributed to various factors, such as improved trade relations between the two countries, participation in the China Fisheries and Seafood Expo held in Qingdao last year by a large group of Pakistani fisheries companies, and the implementation of efficient supply chain management strategies in the Pakistani seafood industry,” Ghulam Qadir, an investment and trade counselor at Pakistan’s embassy in Beijing, told The Express Tribune.
The U.S. and European Union continued to block Pakistani shrimp exports in 2023. The E.U. implemented a ban in 2007 over concerns about sanitary conditions, and the U.S. instituted its ban in 2017 due to continued noncompliance with the mandatory use of turtle excluder devices. Only a few Pakistani companies that have proven their compliance with the rule have been granted exemptions, according to The Nation.
China, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia are Pakistan’s primary seafood export markets. But, its exports dropped sharply in value this year due to lower global seafood prices and the flooding of Asian markets with cheap seafood, according to Pakistan Fisheries Exporters Association (PAKFEA) former vice president Saeed Fareed.
“The Southeast Asian market ran stagnant last year,” Fareed told the Business Recorder.
High operational costs against low returns have forced several fishermen and boat owners groups to ...
