Fishery exports during the 2012-13 fiscal year totaled about USD 650 million (EUR 473 million) worth of fish being sold to China, Thailand and as far as the Middle East and U.S., according to government data. This year however, experts believe that figure will fall 15 percent to about USD 550 million (EUR 400 million), well short of the industry’s revenue target of USD 700 million (EUR 510 million).
“Not only is income down, but so is export tonnage. We have earned only about USD 400 million (EUR 291 million) in revenues so far this year and based on that we will not meet last year’s number,” said U Toe Nandar Tin, treasurer of the Myanmar Fisheries Processors and Exporters Association of the Myanmar Fisheries Federation.
In the first ten months of the fiscal year, 280,000 metric tons (MT) of fish exports generated USD 451.13 million (EUR 328 million) worth of revenue, according to the Fish Inspection and Quality Control Department Division of the Department of Fisheries. The figure falls short of the same period last year when income was USD 84 million (EUR 61.2 million) higher, while total fish production reached 308,000 MT.
