ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) is cognizant of a possible ban on the Pakistani seafood by the European Union.
Pakistan, with a 1,000-kilometre coastline and plenty of lakes and rivers, has the potential of being a major producer of seafood, which cannot only feed a growing population at home but can also earn the country valuable foreign exchange and create jobs through the export sector. Fish and fishery products are processed and exported to over 50 countries including European Union countries. Japan, U. S. A. China, Saudi Arabia, U. A. E. Malaysia, S. Korea, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Singapore are other major importing countries.
Therefore, a well-placed source at MoC told Customs Today that ministry and the Marine Fisheries Department (MFD) are conscious of the fact that if ban on the Pakistani seafood exports is imposed then it will take years to lift it as had been happened in the past. “Ban was imposed on Pakistani seafood exports on the account of failure to meet European Union standards, the source said, adding that there was no export of Seafood to the EU during 2007-2013.
The source said that SPS measures should be based on the WTO SPS Agreement, international standards, recommendations or guidelines or be based on scientific principles. However, third countries often impose unjustified SPS measures in a way that the SPS measure negatively affects the EU exports of agriculture and fishery products.
“The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, also known as the SPS Agreement, is an international treaty of the World Trade Organization which was negotiated during the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and entered into force with the establishment of the WTO at the beginning of 1995” the source added saying that as per SPS agreement, the WTO set constraints on member-states’ policies relating to food safety with respect to imported pests and diseases.
“There are three standards organizations namely Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) which set standards that WTO members should base their SPS methodologies on,” the source added.
However, the source said that as a result of the efforts of the Government of Pakistan i.e, Ministry of Commerce and Marine Fisheries Department (MFD), EU lifted the ban in June 2013 and now two exporting establishments were being allowed to export to EU member states. “The trade statistics for January-September 2014 indicate that there has been an export of US$ 2.47 million to European Union; this represents an increase of US$ 2.12 million over the same period in 2013. EU had de-listed all the companies exporting fish from Pakistan in 2007,” the source added.
The source said that MoC had taken measures to comply with EU’s SPS standards like modernization of laboratory services of Marine Fisheries Department (MFD)), accreditation of MFD Microbiology and Chemical Labs, improvement of fishing vessels/ hygiene practices, improvement of landing/auction sites, improvement of fish processing plants, strengthening of fishery products production chain supervision and harmonization of standards as well as modification of four boats as modular boats and around 200 fishermen’s boats.
The source said that MoC was actively supporting Marine Fisheries Department, which had been declared by EU as the ‘Competent Authority’ from Pakistan to certify consignments before the exports. “Marine Fisheries Department is endeavouring to upgrade five more companies, so that their readiness to export call be conveyed to DG (SANCO), Health and Consumer rights Department of EU,” the source observed.
The source said that two biggest impediments affecting the growth of the fisheries industry in the country were over fishing and poor quality control where handling and storage of the catch was concerned. A recently issued World Bank report Fish to 2030, pointed out that fish could satisfy the palates of the middle income group and meet the food security needs of the poorest. It is pertinent to note here that Karachi Fish Harbour, Korangi Fish Harbour, Pasni Fish Harbour and Gwadar Fish Harbour are major fish harbours in the country.