Fish exports increase 14pc in four months

ISLAMABAD: The exports of fish and fish preparations from the country witnessed increase of 13.87 percent during the first four months of the current fiscal year, compared to the corresponding period of last year.

The exports of fish and fish preparations from the country were witnessed at $114.787 million in July-October (2016-17), compared to the exports of $100.809 million during July-October (2015-16), according to the latest data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

In terms of quantity, the fish trade increased by 22.93 percent by growing from the exports of 37,443 metric tons last year to 45,188 metric tons during the current fiscal year.

Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the exports of fish and fish preparations from the country witnessed increase of 4.34 percent in October 2016 when compared to the exports of October 2015.

The seafood exports during October 2016 were recorded at $50.727 million compared to the exports of $35.683 million.

On month-on-month basis, the fish exports increased by 47.25 percent in October 2016 when compared to the exports of $34.456 million in September 2015.

In terms of quantity, the seafood exports from the country increased by 70.71 percent and 40.33 percent during October 2016 when compared to October 2015 and September 2016 respectively, according to the data.

It is pertinent to mention here that the overall food exports from the country witnessed decrease of 11.43 percent during first four months of the ongoing fiscal year.

The food exports from the country were recorded at $980.668 million compared to the exports of 1107.226 million, the data revealed.

The overall merchandise exports from the country were recorded at $6.432 billion during the first four months of the current fiscal year compared to $6.865 billion during the corresponding period of last year, showing a decrease of 6.31 percent.

The imports into the country during the period witnessed increase of 8.51 percent by going up from $14.504 last year to $15.738 this year.

Based on the figures, the trade deficit during the period increased 21.82 percent by going up from the deficit of $7.639 billion last year to $9.306 billion this year.