Irfan Ahmed ISLAMABAD, May 11 (INP-WealthPK): Pakistan’s seafood exports grew by 2.04% year-on-year to $309.979 million (Rs53.813 billion) during July-March 2021-22 from $303.782 million (Rs48.971 billion) during the same period of the last fiscal year, reports WealthPK. On a YoY basis, fish exports decreased by 19.81% to $42.168 million (Rs7.574 billion) in  March 2022 from $52.583 million (Rs8.204 billion) during the same month last year. [caption id="attachment_67004" align="aligncenter" width="696"] Source: PBS website/WealthPk research[/caption] Similarly, seafood exports increased by 16.40% month on month in March 2022 compared with $36.227 million (Rs6.357 billion) in February 2022. Seafood trade declined by 14.55% as exports decreased from 136,971 metric tons to 116,514 metric tons. Muslim Mohammedi, Chairman of Pakistan Fisheries Exporters Association, told WealthPK that fisheries exports were operating at full capacity, and their exports were projected to increase in the second half of the current fiscal year 2021-22. The overall food group exports from the country during nine months of the current fiscal year increased by 18.92% compared with the same period of last year. During the period from July-March 2021-22, different food commodities including rice, vegetables, fruits, oilseeds, meat, fish, spices, and others valuing $3.961 billion were exported against the exports of $3.331 billion during the same period last year. It’s worth mentioning that the country’s overall exports increased by 24.98% in the nine months of the current fiscal year, reaching $23.255 million from $18.667 million during the previous year. Imports also registered about 58.73% increase, as they went up from $39.489 billion in the first nine months of last year to $58.877 billion during the current fiscal year, the PBS data revealed. As per a World Bank study, China consumed 65 million tons of seafood, of which only 15 million tons were fetched from the wild, and the remaining 50 million tons were achieved through aquaculture farming. The export of Pakistan’s aquatic products to China still has enormous potential to grow. As the world’s largest importer of aquatic products, China imported $13.8 billion worth of aquatic products in 2021, up about 11% YoY, according to Chinese customs data. Fisheries would be a big and emerging industry for Pakistan’s exports. Fishing in Pakistan accounts for around 1% of the GDP, but still it plays a crucial role in developing the economy by providing employment opportunities to a significant number of people. Moreover, it can be a profitable profession and a promising means to earn precious foreign exchange for the country. To increase seafood production and shrimp business, farmers need a good, cheap and easily available aqua feed, which can be made available with the help of Chinese investments. Chinese investors can bring the new fish breeds to Pakistan, set up their farms and hatcheries, sell these products to the farmers, and help them enhance their production exports. Chinese investors and experts can largely help Pakistan lay a robust aquaculture infrastructure in specific areas and improve the capacity building of the people associated with the business. In a nutshell, joint fisheries business policies must be formulated with fish farm owners, and fishery trade expansion possibilities must be explored. Fish farming investments in Pakistan are a profitable business for both Chinese and Pakistani investors.