Pakistan fish and seafood exports reach $125.4m, minister says
Pakistan's fish and seafood exports reached $125.4 million in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, a 74.4 per cent increase over three years, according to Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry, the federal minister for maritime affairs. In a statement issued on Monday, the minister said earnings had risen from $71.9 million, with export volumes up 74.8 per cent from 35,294 tonnes to 61,679 tonnes over the same period. He said the figures underscored the growing economic potential of the marine fisheries sector as Pakistan seeks to expand its blue economy.
The minister set out a three-year volume series, from 35,294 tonnes in the first quarter of 2024-25 to 43,995 tonnes in the same quarter of 2025-26, reaching 61,679 tonnes in the first quarter of 2026-27. Earnings stood at $93.28 million in the first quarter of 2025-26 before rising to $125.4 million in the quarter now reported, he said, adding that value and volume had grown broadly in step.
Chaudhry credited the Marine Fisheries Department with record export earnings of $568 million during FY2025-26. He said the fisheries sector was an important component of Pakistan's coastal economy, providing livelihoods to fishing communities while generating foreign exchange through exports of fish and other marine products.
He described the opening of new international markets, particularly Russia, as another significant achievement, and said recent initiatives to resume shrimp exports to the United States, along with the revival of the fishing licensing regime in Pakistan's Exclusive Economic Zone, would help promote sustainable use of the country's marine fisheries resources.
Chaudhry stressed the need to address institutional, technical and capacity-related bottlenecks to lift fish and seafood exports to lucrative international markets, particularly the European Union. He also called for the revival of the Marine Fisheries Department's Fisheries Training Centre to strengthen human-resources capacity, improve technical and professional standards and enhance compliance with international fisheries and seafood safety requirements.
