Colombo: Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Fisheries Aquatic Resources Development has dismissed media reports that said the ban imposed by the European Union on Sri Lanka’s fish exports will be lifted on April 21.
The Ministry said the European Union has not made a decision yet on lifting the ban imposed since January 2015.
Ministry Spokesman W.M.D. Wanninayake has announced today that the EU has informed him that the ban on Sri Lankan fish exports will be lifted on April 21.
However, a statement issued later has announced that a high level discussion between the government officials and the European Union on lifting the ban is scheduled for April 21 and a decision will be taken after the meeting.
According to the Fisheries Ministry sources the EU had given preliminary approval for the lifting of the fishing ban and the order to remove the ban will be submitted to the EU Parliament. Once the EU parliament grants approval, the EU will inform Sri Lanka in writing that the ban had been lifted.
A Sri Lankan Government delegation headed by Secretary to the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources has conducted the final round of discussions in Brussels last month.
Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Minister Mahinda Amaraweera said that relevant documents pertaining to removal of the ban will be received by Sri Lanka in the coming month.
The European Commission October 2014 proposed to ban imports of fisheries products from Sri Lanka, the second biggest exporter to the bloc, due to Sri Lanka’s failure to demonstrate that it sufficiently addressed illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The ban went into effect from 14 January 2015.
Sri Lanka’s seafood exports were severely hit by the ban and continued to decline since the announcement of the ban in October 2014. In the year 2015, Sri Lanka’s seafood exports declined 35.5 percent to US$ 163.1 million compared to US$ 252.7 million earned in 2014.
Sri Lanka was one of the biggest exporters to the EU of high value fishery products such as fresh and chilled swordfish, tuna and tuna-like species.
