Seafood exports to European countries may not resume this year as the European Union has not included Pakistan in its list of audit under which EU sends delegations for harbour inspections.
EU had imposed ban on seafood exports from Pakistan in April 2007 citing poor hygienic conditions at the harbour. The ban is resulting in a loss of $50 million per annum.
Chairman, Pakistan Fisheries Exporters Association (PFEA), Faisal Iftikhar, confirmed that the EU has not planned any inspections for fishery purpose during 2012. But it may issue update programme in June.
Pakistan is trying to meet the 13 recommendations of a previous inspection report based on visit of a team of Food and Veterinary Organisation (FVO) in January 2007. Ambassador Lars Gunnar Wigemark of the
European Union delegation to Pakistan informed the director-general of the MFD, Shaukat Hussain, on Oct 18, 2011, that the Health and Consumers Directorate-General of the European Commission assessed the file presented by Pakistan on Aug 18 which contained information about recent actions taken to address the recommendations of the 2007 Food and Veterinary (FVO) inspection.
The ambassador said that regretfully the assessment concluded that the measures taken so far did not provide necessary guarantees to demonstrate that all the 13 recommendations have been met.
MFD DG told Dawn on Monday that no EU delegation is coming in 2012 but claimed that Pakistan's case is different from other countries.
“We have rectified around 85 per cent of main deficiencies as pointed out by the EU and only 15 per cent of the EU demand needs to be met,” he claimed adding that EU requires documentary evidence from fish catch to export.
He said the MFD will send documentary evidence in the next 15-20 days to the EU on the remaining 15 per cent issues like HACCP, lab testing methods etc.
The MFD DG said that the non-inclusion of Pakistan's name on EU planned visit list in 2012 is not a serious matter as an EU delegation can visit our country any time as MFD is in constant touch with the EU.
The MFD DG said around 500 boats had been modified as per EU requirement.
He said that queries keep coming from the EU, but it does not mean that some kind of permanent ban had been imposed.
“We are hopeful of lifting ban in the current year,” he added.
MFD a month back had called upon an international expert for technical related fund assistance which was funded by EU followed by continuous interaction with UNIDO officials for taking assistance in removing the EU ban.
A UK expert on fishing had arrived on Monday to assist the government on sanitary and phyto sanitary requirement under WTO regime for overall Pakistan's fishing sector.
He said that prior to the ban, Pakistan enjoyed a share of 15 per cent in quantity and 34 per cent in value terms in EU markets out of total fish exports.
Fisheries exporters, however, captured other markets and fetched better prices than the European buyers.
Export of fish and fish products jumped to $156 million in July-December 2011 as compared to $121 million in the same period of 2010. Export in July-June 2010-2011 stood $296 million as compared to $227 million in 2009-2010.
In 2012, 64 per cent of the audits will take place in the European Union, five per cent in candidate countries and 31 per cent in other third countries.