Fozia Azam

The exports of fish and fish preparations grew by 23.53% during the first five months of the current fiscal year compared to the same period the previous year, according to figures from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). In comparison to the $150.502 million in exports during the period in 2021-22, the country's revenue from seafood exports increased by around 23.53% to $185.922 million in the July-November (2022-23) period.

Fish and fish preparation exports rose in quantity by 26.31%, from 56,731 metric tonnes in the first five months of last year to 71,659 metric tonnes in the same five months this year. When compared year over year, the exports of seafood fell by 5.40% to $51.198 million in November 2022 from $54.118 million in November 2021.

While the amount of exports increased from 20,643 metric tonnes last year to 20,764 metric tonnes this year, the percentage growth was only 0.59%. When compared to the exports of $54.662 million in October, the seafood exports fell by 6.34% month over month. Fish exports increased in volume by 2.90% in November 2022 compared to the 20,179 metric tonnes exported in October 2022. Overall food exports from the country were valued at $1,927.041 million from July to November (2022-23) compared to $1,947.445 million from July to November (2021-22), a decrease of 1.05%.

The merchandise trade deficit for the first five months of this year decreased by 30.14% from a deficit of $20,621 million last year to $14,406 million this year. On the other hand, the country's imports declined over the review period by 20.15%, falling from $32,983 million last year to $26,338 million this year.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk