March 30, 2012

 

India's marine exports to EU prevented

Fishing vessels which have not registered with Export Inspection Agency (EIA) in their respective states by March 15 will not be given health certificates or permits to export to the EU, the agency said.

 

Kerala fishers and exporters are protesting the announcement, as none of the state's fleet of 5,500 mechanised boats is registered with the EIA and neither are the four landing harbours on the state's coastline.

 

India has a fleet of more than 60,000 mechanised boats, and exporters complain that none have been registered with the agency. Moreover, there are also 48 major fishing harbours and numerous fish landing centres which are not registered, Business Line reports.

 

An official of the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) said talks are on to resolve the issue between exporters and the Export Inspection Council (EIC).

 

However, the EIA has agreed on a suspension until it hears the opinions of exporters and boat owners in the next few weeks, exporters said.

 

The EU is India's second-largest market for marine exports after Southeast Asia with 22.02%, followed by the US with 19.17%, Japan at 14.09% and China at 7.06%.

 

"Registering these boats will be a lengthy, if not tortuous process, as a lot of awareness has to be generated and this would take time. As for harbours and landing centres, just two of them have provisional approval while the rest do not conform to EU standards of hygiene and packing to ensure safety from contamination," informed Anwar Hashim, managing director of Abad Fisheries and former president of the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI).

 

He noted that Kerala's seafood industry was caught by surprise and is fearful of what lies ahead for exports. While Kerala's shrimp exports are largely shipped to the US and Japan, the EU is the primary market for cuttlefish and squid.

 

Hashim said a similar notification was issued in 2011.

 

"In our talks with EIC then, our understanding was that EIC's proposed inspections for ensuring hygiene at the landing centres and proper decontamination facilities would not be linked to the issue of registrations. Unfortunately, that is what seems to be happening," Hashim said.

 

Exporters have highlighted that the issue is beyond their control because the fishing harbours are owned by the government, which should ensure hygiene at the landing centres.

 

Seafood from Kerala fetched over INR20 billion (US$383.2 million) of India's estimated INR170 billion (US$3.3 billion) worth of exports in fiscal 2011.

 

Some of the exporters argue that the crisis will mean many companies will not be able to accomplish their export target set for the current fiscal year.