ALTHOUGH Pakistan’s seafood exports have grown considerably even after the EU ban but this achievement cannot be attributed to real increase in terms of value. Pakistan is still getting lower prices for its fishery products than neighbouring countries such as India.
The boost in value can mainly be attributed to weakening of rupee against dollar and export of the last bit of edible fish in Pakistan waters to cheap markets such as China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, and some other countries of the Far East. Some parts of the cache are also being exported to Egypt and the Middle East.
It is good news that somehow the MFD has persuaded the EU to lift the ban of seafood exports on Pakistan. However, it must be noted that allowing one or two processing units is not going to resolve the problem.
The entire fishing sector needs immediate steps for revamping and renovation.
Unless this is done, it will not be possible to establish traceability and a cold chain. A look at the harbour shows no signs of improvements in the artisan fleets’ design or the technology employed in the processing units.
Fish could be seen stashed on dirty fish harbour floors and sold and transported with little or no ice.
Most of the seafood processing units do not have adequate facilities for making ice and the ones which do have, their equipment is usually out of order and just a showpiece to comply with formalities.
Almost all processing units are run by obsolete equipment, as well as by poorly insulated stores where finished product is let to deteriorate due to rapid fluctuations in storage temperature.
It has been noted that products from most of the processing plants and exporters can hardly fulfil the right kind of product core temperature requirement of the leading shipping companies. Other shipping lines are lax on this issue and would even accept half frozen products for shipments. This irregularity must be regularly checked before every shipment.
A reasonable balance ought to be kept between indiscriminate catching of all kinds of fish and their seasons and conservation if the welfare of the industry is desired.
MAZHAR Karachi
