KARACHI: Pakistan has set a seafood export target of $600 million for the financial year 2025–26, the maritime affairs ministry said on Friday, as officials and exporters held talks with Chinese partners in Beijing this week to scale up aquaculture and frozen food ventures.
The fisheries sector earned $465 million in FY 2024–25, according to government data, with China the country’s biggest buyer. Officials say new memorandums of understanding and business-to-business deals signed with Chinese companies are central to lifting production and establishing Pakistan as a regional seafood hub.
“Pakistan aims to reach $600 million in seafood exports in the upcoming financial year,” Federal Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry was quoted as saying in a statement by his office after he met exporters in China, stressing that memorandums of understanding and business-to-business agreements would be central to boosting fisheries and establishing the country as a regional hub.
“Pakistan ranks as the third-largest global exporter of mud crabs, shipping over 3,000 tons of live mud crabs to China, its biggest importer,” he added.
Exporters said aquaculture collaboration with Chinese firms was key to accessing distant markets.
