Fishing for exports

The health benefits of fish are many, and many fond of it in Pakistan are also availing them. But, its the economic benefits of fish that are yet to be exploited by the country which boasts of some of the finest varieties of fish in the world.
In 2007, the seafood sector of the country received a jolt when a visiting mission from the EU objected to Pakistans fisheries catching and processing chain, and thereafter, banned exports of fisheries products from Pakistan.
Now, the reported reluctance of Jeddah to continue seafood imports from Pakistan due to unsatisfactory transportation conditions has raised many eyebrows as regards the countrys seafood industry.
Despite the falling out with the EU, fisheries exports from Pakistan dipped just slightly after FY07, whereas it maintained a reasonable growth in dollar terms, with a modest decline in FY10.
Faisal Iftikhar Ali, Chairman, Pakistan Fisheries Exporters Association, attributes this to the emergence of potent alternative markets for Pakistans fisheries as a cushion for the sector.
"We found a new market in Egypt, Indonesia and the Middle East in 2009 and that helped sustain our exports considerably," said Ali, adding that this resulted in some complacency with regard to the pursuit of achieving EUs standards for resuming exports to the bloc.
However, he also complains of the EUs strict policy for the tardy recommencement of exports to the union. "The fish exported from Pakistan is of premium quality and I have seen less than 5 rejections of consignments during the 15 years of my career. EU needs to consider all these factors; they should understand that their requirements are extremely stringent," explained Ali.
Making matters worse is the law and order situation with the European Commission postponing its inspection visit to Pakistan due to security concerns. So, exports to the EU will not see the light of the day this year either.
Further, value-added products growth is also quite stunted in Pakistan. A key reason for this is the erratic availability of raw material, as the seafood exports of Pakistan are mostly based on wild catch.
"We rely 100 percent on wild catch. In the absence of a definite availability of fish, value-added exports cannot be expected to flourish," said Ali.
The answer to this predicament is fish farming, which, unfortunately, is not very developed in Pakistan, and the cause for this is quite obvious - an underdeveloped coastal belt.
Theres a lack of infrastructural facilities and governmental support, as well as a lack of awareness of the processes and technology involved in fish farming. The law and order situation along the coastal belt, in particular in Balochistan, also leaves a lot to be desired.
Farmed shrimp exports in Bangladesh, the coast line of which is half the length of Pakistans, is around 10 times more - at $600 million - than shrimp exports of Pakistan. Since shrimps are believed to be a very profitable export item, the potential for Pakistan is huge.
The sooner these issues are addressed, the better for fish exporters of Pakistan.