In the processing plant of a seafood company at the fish harbour of Karachi, workers are busying grading, cleaning, and packaging fresh shrimps. Twenty days later, they will make their appearance in some Chinese aquatic market.

 

From ribbon fish, croakers, cuttle fish, to shrimps, crabs, and lobsters, Chinese’ appetite for aquatic products has been growing with a considerable momentum since 2013. Out of Pakistan’s total fishery exports, 60 per cent are destined for China. 

 

“Fishery is a big and emerging industry in Pakistan”, said Dr. Saeed Murtaza Hasan Andravi, Director Animal Sciences Institute NARC, Islamabad. It accounts for less than one percent of GDP, but provides vast employment opportunities for the under-developed in Pakistan. Moreover, it can be a profitable profession and a promising means to earn foreign exchange.

 

Since aquatic products enjoyed tariff concession under the second phase of China Pakistan Free trade Agreement (CPFTA) implemented in Dec 2019, Pakistan’s fishery sector witnessed a boom in terms of export. According to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Pakistan's exports of frozen seafood were increased by 83.70% to $73.947m in the first seven months of 2019-2020 fiscal year. Statistics from Chinese customs show that in the first half this year, Pakistan’s fish meal exports to China topped 20,000 tons with a value of over USD 20 million.

 

But still, more is expected out of these abundant aquatic resources, especially amid the pandemic. “In our seafood industry, we have 450 million dollar export at the time, but we can increase it to 1 billion dollar”, envisaged Muhammad Zafar Kundi, Chairman of Pakistan Fisheries Export Association.

 

 

“The requirements for fishing in Pakistan have not yet been met as in other countries because people are using traditional methods and they are living a hand to mouth life”, observed Irfan Ahmad, Incharge of Karachi Fisherman Cooperative Society.

 

Most of Pakistani aquatic exports are captured fishes. Unlike processed products, they faced a lot of uncertainties.

 

A net, a boat, and an engine--these are all the tools used by some fishermen. Unequipped by modern devices, they face the challenges of unpredictable waters and weathers. Engines can be damaged, wind may overthrow the boats, net can get torn, and people can get drowned... “We sometimes go deep into the ocean. If we are unable to find fish, then we have to bear the loss”, complained a fisherman based in Karachi.

 

“If we have up-to-date cameras as China does and learn how to use them, we can find targets relying on the advanced technology instead of the old experiences”, Bashir Mahmood, a fisherman at Gwadar said.

 

Freshness is another important dimension of keeping the value of captured fishes. Statistics show that over 60% of the captured fishes are wasted as they have already been dead by the time they reach the market and can only be sold as fish meal. The United Nations estimates that Pakistan is losing $60 million annually due to low-value cost.

 

“We are still using old methods that consume more electricity and add to the expenses. There is only one factory that has just started working on nitrogen-based quick freezing. We should use the latest technology because it freezes products fast and maintains their quality”, suggested Muhammad Rafique Awan, CEO of Hei5 International Food Pakistan.  

 

“For inshore fishing, acquisition vessels, mostly provided by cold-chain logistics companies, are getting popular in China these years. With adequate freezing facilities, more fish can be saved from being wasted”, introduced Cui He, Chairman of China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance.

 

Muhammad said that after fishermen started to catch juvenile fish, the production has become seasonal. Otherwise, the production can last for the complete year. Overfishing without sufficient supervision and control is depleting Pakistan’s aquatic resources and undermining the potential value addition from adult fish.

 

“Training center should be set up to tell people how to set a net when they go to sea, the type of fish they should catch, and the type that should not be caught”, recommends Irfan Ahmad, Incharge, Fisherman Cooperative Society, Karachi.

 

 

Another reason that fishermen are not maximizing their income from the aquatic industry is inadequate value addition.

 

“Most of our products are exported to China. China then adds value to them and export them to other countries”, Asif, a fish exporter at Fish Harbour Karachi told Gwadar pro. Statistics show that Pakistan has been exporting seafood at an average unit price of less than US$ 2.5 per kg from FY 18-21. In contrast, other countries in the region are exporting at at least twice that price.

 

In this regard, China leads the world as the global center of aquatic products deep processing. With a coastline of 32,000 kilometers, China produces about a third of the world’s aquatic products. “China is the only country that can effectively utilize all the fishery wastes”, introduced Cui He. “While the flesh of the fish is consumed, its scale is made into collagen. Also, for shrimps, their main body can be eaten, and their heads and shells are processed into chitin, a substance widely used in cloth, pesticides, etc.”

 

More importantly, both sides are willing to conduct technological exchanges. Back in August 2009, when then Pakistani president Zardari visited China, he specifically visited the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences and witnessed the signing of memorandum between two institutes of the Academy and Pakistani counterparts. In 2019, a delegation of Pakistani fishery professionals visited the leading enterprises in China’s Southern province Fujian to learn about aquatic cultivation, processing, logistics, and marketing. Most recently, PARC is joining hands with Guangzhou Freshwater Fisheries Research Center in training fishermen and farmers and has already building research labs and a basic feed formulating unit.

 

“We have a brand and China has technologies. I hope joint factories can be set up here where we can pack and export our fish to gain maximum profit for the fishermen”, said Bashir Mahmood, a fisherman based in Gwadar.

 

 

“After the outbreak of the pandemic, our exports to China are facing more challenges”, said a fish exporter in Karachi.

 

Most fishery products are exported to China via shipping lines. Complicated by Covid-19 restrictions, exporters face limited shipping lines, inflated rates of containers, and strict corona virus inspection at the customs. As a result, the turnover of containers is geared down, posing higher requirements on Pakistan’s anti-pandemic efforts.

 

Since the beginning of this year, Pakistani enterprises have tested positive in frozen aquatic products exported to China at least six times and have been suspended from import declaration for one to eight weeks. It has been reported that nine out of the top fifteen companies exporting fish to China have faced or have been facing a temporary ban since January after detection of corona virus in their shipments.

 

“The exporters suffered a great loss due to this. All of their containers got wasted and they had to burn all the fish”, told Nagman, owner of a Gwadar fish factory. Plans are recommended to be made to stop the spread of the virus through export. “We have hired employees to spray disinfectant in the containers. So we are exporting fish to China with proper SOPs and we don’t receive any complaints”, he said.

 

This article originally appeared on Gwadar Pro.