Pakistani seafood due for EU inspection next month

 

 

After many delays, a team of EU officials is expected to arrive next month to inspect fish harbour and other seafood processing facilities.

 

The EU ban on fish imports from Pakistan will complete its third year in April and the government has been trying hard to get it removed.

                                                                                        

Director General of the Marine Fisheries Department (MFD) Mohammad Moazzam Khan said Pakistan had already sent a pre-inspection report including an action plan to the EU before December 31, 2009.

 

Khan said that the Pakistan Embassy in Brussels had also confirmed to the MDF last week that an EU team was planning to visit the country in March.

 

The EU team visit to Pakistan was supposedly expected by mid of the last October to inspect the Karachi fish harbour, exporting seafood companies and the fishing modified boats, but the country's bad law and order compelled the team to it cancel its visit.

 

The EU mission will inspect auction halls, processing factories, fishery institutions and infrastructure at the harbour in order to ascertain that international standards are met.

 

Interestingly, since the EU imposed ban in April 2007, the country had not witnessed any major fall in seafood exports. In 2008-09, total exports stood at 134,373 tonnes (US$236.5 million) as compared to 134,657 tonnes (US$212 million) in the same period of previous fiscal year.

 

However, in the first six months of this fiscal year, seafood exports dipped to 55,109 tonnes (US$98 million) as compared to 58,708 tonnes (US$114 million) in the same period last year.

 

Khan attributed the decline in exports to slow landing of fish at the harbour in December due to chillier weather, adding that Pakistani exporters made serious efforts in finding new markets after losing hope in the EU.

 

He said after losing US$50 million European markets per annum, Pakistan had found Egypt as a main market.

 

In 2007, the Egyptian importers did not give better price but in the last two years, local exporters were fetching same price from Egyptian buyers as they used to get from European countries. Other potential markets discovered were Indonesia and United Arab Emirates.