Exporters upbeat on waiver of tests on 20pc of shipments
Photo: STARThe European Union may remove its obligatory rule to test 20 percent of frozen fish consignments from Bangladesh, raising hopes for hurdle-free shipments to a major export destination, said officials and exporters yesterday.
The commercial counsellor of Bangladesh embassy in Brussels informed the local authority that the European Commission agreed in principle to lift the provision.
Only tests on shipping samples will remain.
Citing an e-mail from the commercial counsellor, the Export Promotion Bureau informed exporters and fisheries officials that a formal announcement of the waiver by the EU authority may take some time.
“The EU is in the process of revoking the rule. But it is no more applying the rule of testing 20 percent of consignments on a compulsory basis,” said Shamsul Kibria, joint secretary of the fisheries and livestock ministry.
The EU has relaxed its stance after an audit team of the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) of the EC that visited Bangladesh in March, has found improvements in the residue monitoring system, particularly in the laboratories.
The FVO mission came to Bangladesh to evaluate government measures for controlling residues and contaminations in live animals and animal products to ensure that these are within the specified residue limits of the EU.
“In contrast to the findings in 2010, the analytical methods used for the residue monitoring programme in crustaceans, and for the pre-export testing, are now validated and appropriate for the purpose,” said the audit report on Bangladesh.
It however said some deficiencies remain in some quality-control measures and general quality management systems in the laboratories.
In the face of a detection of an antibiotic in fresh water shrimp in 2009 and a lack of laboratory capacity to test certain residues risky for human health, the EU imposed a bar in July last year making it mandatory to test 20 percent of consignments from Bangladesh.
The government has since improved its quality control measures and enhanced the number of machines in laboratories to test export-oriented fisheries, said officials.
Referring to the FVO mission report on Bangladesh, Kibria said the EC's confidence in the testing capabilities of Bangladesh authority has increased.
“Their confidence in our quality control measures has grown,” he said, “There has been a lot of improvement on our part including validation of testing method.”
Exporters said easing of rules of 20 percent testing by the EU authority will encourage more buyers to import from Bangladesh because the waiver will reduce delays in getting clearance of exported consignments and cut costs.
Amin Ullah, managing director of leading exporter ARK Seafoods Ltd, said they are expecting the EU authority to withdraw the test restriction.
“Withdrawal of the provision will encourage buyers to import more from us,'' said Ullah, also senior vice president of Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association.
The waiver of tests will relieve exporters of the uncertainty over the consignments getting clearance. “It will free us a bit from the tension. But we have to prevent any contamination or presence of residues at home,” he said.
Khan Habibur Rahman, senior executive director of another major exporter Lockpur Group, said the relaxation of mandatory testing criteria by the EU will be favourable for both exporters and importers.
“Consignments will not face delays at ports,” he said.
Bangladesh registered a 40 percent rise in exports earnings from frozen foods mainly shrimp to $625 million in fiscal 2010-11 from $445 million in the previous year, according to EPB.
The EU is the largest market for the country's frozen fish, followed by the USA.
http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=198807
Proposed US bill on seafood safety
Exporters asked to get ready to avert adverse impact...
Country's frozen food exporters have been asked to take preparations for averting any possible adverse impact as the US senate has approved a bill relating to seafood safety.
The bill directs the department of commerce (DoC) of US to enter into agreements with other federal agencies to strengthen cooperation on seafood safety, labelling and fraud, according to a communiqué, sent by the Bangladesh embassy in Washington DC.
"Since the proposed bill might affect the frozen food export sector in Bangladesh, all stakeholders need to take a coordinated approach for meeting the compliance requirements in relation to its exports to the US market," the message, signed by Commercial Counsellor Shafiqul Islam, noted.
The Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) earlier sent the copy of message to different trade bodies including the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) for taking necessary measures to meet the requirements as stipulated in the US bill.
Frozen food exporters have started discussions with the ministry of commerce as well as ministry of fisheries and livestock on the issue for taking necessary measures to comply with the requirements of the bill.
"We've already discussed the proposed US bill relating to seafood safety with the ministries concerned," Director of the Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA) S Humayun Kabir told the FE Monday.
He also said the BFFEA is taking preparations so that their exports to the US market remain unaffected.
The US is the single largest importer of Bangladeshi frozen foods, he said adding the US imported around 28 per cent of Bangladesh's total frozen foods export in fiscal year 2010-11(FY11).
Bangladesh earned US$625.04 million exporting frozen food in FY11, registering 40.40 per cent growth, compared with the previous fiscal year, the EPB data showed.
Other provisions in the bill include sending inspectors to countries that export seafood to the US to assess practices and process being used in connection with the farming, cultivation, harvesting and preparation for marketing or transportation of seafood.
Inspection teams must report about their visits to DoC and these reports will be provided to Health and Human Services (HHS) to aid in risk-based determinations such as establishment of inspection priority of domestic and foreign facilities and examination and testing of imported seafood, the message added.
A bill named 'Commercial Seafood Consumer Protection Act has been placed to the US Congress on January 25 last by Senator K Inouye. So far three senators have cosponsored the bill and recently 'The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation' has approved the bill.
http://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/more.php?news_id=146456&date=2011-08-16
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