Pakistan earned much more from meat exports in July-August 2026 without selling much more meat. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), exports of meat and meat preparations rose by 22.53% year on year to $94.147m, up from $76.835m. Volumes increased by only about 3%, from 17,177 tonnes to 17,653, so most of the gain came from higher prices.

Fish exports showed the opposite pattern. Pakistan exported 24,662 tonnes of fish and fish products, about 10% more than the 22,433 tonnes shipped a year earlier. However, earnings rose by only 3.23% to $47.791m from $46.295m, which implies that average prices fell.

As a result, the meat sector earned almost twice as much as the fish sector despite exporting a smaller quantity. Meat exports generated nearly $94.2m, compared with about $47.8m from fish.

Both products contributed to growth in overall food exports. The food group earned $833.023m in July-August, 7.67% more than the $773.644m earned a year earlier.

Food imports remained much larger than food exports. Pakistan spent $1.503bn on imported food during the two months, 2.23% more than the $1.47bn spent in the same period last year.

That left a food trade deficit of about $670m over the two months, slightly smaller than a year earlier because exports grew faster than imports. Even so, meat and fish exports together covered less than a tenth of the country's food import bill.

The data suggest that meat producers are earning higher prices, while fish exporters are selling more but receiving less per tonne. The fish sector may therefore need to sell higher-value products to keep pace with meat exports.