Oman- Sultanate's seafood exports get boost from higher fish landings

Date

8/21/2016 1:01:01 AM

(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat-

Oman's seafood exports surged last year amid the sharp increase in fish landings. Volumes jumped 42 per cent in 2015 as exports to neighbouring GCC countries registered a sharp increase.

Total exports jumped to 110,579 tonnes in 2015 from 77,645 tonnes in the previous year, statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) showed.

Despite the growth in volumes, value of seafood exports, however, dropped by seven per cent to RO48.9mn from RO52.5mn a year earlier.

Export of fresh fish surged 93 per cent to 38,559 tonnes, while frozen-fish exports rose 34 per cent to 65,591 tonnes. Export of crustaceans and molluscs almost doubled to 4,963 tonnes. The sharp rise in fresh-fish exports was driven by increasing demand from other GCC countries, while frozen-fish exports got a boost mainly from America and Europe, the statistics showed.

Growth in exports was recorded amid rising activity in the sector and consistent growth in fish landings over the past few years. In 2015, total fish landed increased 22 per cent to 257,172 tonnes from 211,315 tonnes in the previous year.

Exports to GCC countries - which accounted for 37 per cent of Oman's total fish export - jumped 79 per cent to 40,486 tonnes in 2015 from 22,676 tonnes a year earlier.

The UAE accounted for more than half of the volumes bound for GCC nations at 22,400 tonnes. Exports to Saudi Arabia jumped to 14,000 tonnes from 8,809 tonnes, while exports to Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain also recorded significant increase.

The sultanate's fish exports to America more than doubled in 2015 to 10,793 tonnes from 5,287 tonnes, with frozen fish the key item. Exports to Europe stood at 1,480 tonnes.

Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.