Pakistan Seafood Exports Surge 74% to $125.4m
Pakistan’s fish and seafood exports surged 74.4 percent in value during the first quarter of the current fiscal year, reaching $125.4 million, up from $71.9 million over the comparable period two fiscal years earlier, Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said on Monday.
The sharp increase in seafood export earnings highlights the growing economic potential of Pakistan’s marine fisheries sector and its role in expanding the country’s blue economy, according to the minister. The increase also indicates stronger export activity as Pakistan seeks greater access to lucrative international seafood markets.
Export volume recorded a similar rise, increasing 74.8 percent over the three-year period. Fish exports climbed from 35,294 metric tonnes (MT) in the first quarter of 2024-25 to 43,995 MT in Q1 2025-26 and reached 61,679 MT in Q1 2026-27.
In value terms, fish exports increased from $93.28 million in Q1 2025-26 to $125.4 million in Q1 2026-27. The figures show that the growth in export earnings has broadly kept pace with the increase in export volume.
The minister said the fisheries sector remains an important part of Pakistan’s coastal economy, supporting fishing communities while generating foreign exchange through exports of fish and other marine products.
Read:Pakistan Achieves Record $500 Million in Fish and Seafood Exports
Junaid Anwar Chaudhry also highlighted the performance of the Marine Fisheries Department, which recorded export earnings of $568 million during FY2025-26. He described the opening of new international markets, particularly Russia, for Pakistani fisheries products as another significant development.
According to the minister, initiatives to resume shrimp exports to the United States, alongside the revival of the fishing licensing regime in Pakistan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), could further support market expansion and the sustainable utilisation of marine fisheries resources.
The minister stressed that institutional, technical and capacity-related bottlenecks must be addressed to increase Pakistan’s fish and seafood exports to high-value international markets, particularly the European Union.
He also called for the revival and restoration of the Fisheries Training Centre (FTC) of the Marine Fisheries Department. The centre, he said, would help strengthen human-resource capacity, raise technical and professional standards, and improve compliance with international fisheries and seafood safety requirements.
Junaid Anwar Chaudhry further emphasised the importance of strengthening the skills and capacity of fishermen, skippers, fisheries professionals and other stakeholders throughout the fisheries supply chain. Better training and technical standards would help improve the quality, safety and traceability of Pakistani seafood, strengthening its competitiveness in international markets.
The minister reiterated his commitment to modernising Pakistan’s fisheries sector, promoting sustainable marine resource utilisation, expanding international market access and increasing the sector’s contribution to the national economy.
