By Irfan Ahmed ISLAMABAD, April 01 (INP-WealthPK): Pakistan’s seafood exports grew by 6.48% to $267.486 million (Rs46.217 billion) during July-February 2021-22, from $251.199 million (Rs40.767 billion) during the corresponding period of the last fiscal year. On year-on-year (YoY) basis, fish exports from the country increased by 16.55% to $35.901 million (Rs6.336 billion) in February 2022, from $30.803 million (Rs4.902 billion) during the same month last year, WealthPK reported. Similarly, seafood exports increased by 15.40% month-over-month (MoM) in February 2022, according to the latest figures released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). Muslim Mohammedi, Chairman of Pakistan Fisheries Exporters Association, told WealthPK that China was the largest destination for Pakistan’s aquatic exports with a 60% share, which includes ribbon fish, cuttlefish, squid fish, and jellyfish. He further informed that Pakistan’s 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. Muslim Mohammedi called for incentivizing tariffs on both electricity and gas in order to propel seafood exports to different destinations/markets including China. He was of the view that Pakistan’s production cost has increased due to high power tariffs which may cause a decrease in exports. The overall food group exports from the country during eight months of the current fiscal year increased by 20.33% as compared to the same period of last year. During the period from July-February 2021-22, different food commodities including rice, vegetables, fruits, oilseeds, meat, fish, spices, and others valuing $3.433 billion were exported against the exports of $2.853 billion during the same period last year. It’s worth mentioning that the country’s overall exports increased by 25.95% in the eight months of current fiscal year, showing an increase of $20.559 billion from $16.323 billion during the previous year. Imports also registered about 55.07% increase as they went up from $33.858 billion in the first eight months of last year to $52.505 billion during the current fiscal year, the PBS data revealed. In a statement, Abdul Razak Dawood, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Commerce and Investment, said that exports of fish and fish products, fruits and vegetables, and other food items had increased during the first eight months of the current fiscal year. 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. Fishing in Pakistan contributes around 1% to the gross domestic product (GDP), but it still 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. In order to increase the 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 as well as hatcheries and sell these products to the farmers, besides helping 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 summation, 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.