Contradicting official export statistics: 'seafood export declines significantly this fiscal year'

Contradicting the official export statistics, the seafood exporters believe the volume of their export has declined significantly this fiscal year for shortage of several important fish and shrimp species because of over exploitation. The Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) says Pakistan's export of seafood has soared around 16 percent or $17.217 million in the first five months (July-November) of the current fiscal year 2011-12 to $125.959 million, but exporters termed them "factitious".
"Unfortunately this year has been quite lean in terms of seafood export for raw material shortage," said Chairman of Pakistan Fisheries Exporters Association (PAKFEA) M Faisal Iftikhar on Thursday. He said it could not be possible the local exporters to make such huge difference in terms of seafood exports as low amount of fish and shrimp had arrived at fisheries in the last two months. "The over exploitation has brought the marine life in peril over the years and suddenly one the sea will be empty," he showed worries.
The country exported seafood products of $125.959 million during July-November span of this fiscal year as compared to these products export of $108.742 million during the same period of the last fiscal year, depicting a growth of 15.80 percent or $17.217 million, according to the controversial statistics. The statistics continue to describe the increase in the seafood export size of the same period this fiscal year by 10.34 percent or 4,703 tons to 50,195 tons as compared to the products export of 45,703 tons in the last fiscal year.
But the industry's views are highly in contrast to the FBS data, as Faisal Iftikhar says, "in the last two months nearly no export has been made. Seafood export is completely shut". In November 2011, Pakistan export of fish and shrimps went up to 28.608 million as against the seafood export of $25.183 million in November 2010, posting an increase of 13.60 percent or $3.425 million, according to the official calculations. In terms of volume, the country exported 11,053 tons of seafood in November 2011 as compared to the export of sea edibles of 10,605 tons in November 2010, making a distinction of 4.22 percent growth or 448 tons, the official data depicts.
Pakistan's export of edible marine species, however, declined by 24.81 percent or $9.441 million, which stood at 28.609 million during November 2011 as compared to the seafood export of $38.050 million in October 2011, the statistics say. Similarly, the volume of seafood export also plunged to 11,053 tons in November 2011 as compared to the export of these products of 15,041 tons in October 2011, showing a fall of big 26.51 percent or 3,961 tons, the figures reveal.
Chairman PAKFEA believes the government's statistics were "manipulated", saying there had been an acute shortage of the marine species, which the local exporters were previously exporting for their world-wide appeal. He said marine life in peril towards extinction, which the sea had begun to manifest from the present critical decline in the raw material arrival. "The affects from the decline of seafood key species including Pomfret, Red Snappers, Indian Mackerel, and Kiddi shrimp," he added.
He said Indian Mackerel the local exporters would export them in huge volume about 4,000 containers a year, which now had reduced to some hundreds. "Indian Mackerel used to be considered one of the key exporting species to Far Eastern nations but not now," Faisal Iftikhar pointed out.