The piece of news that the country imports nearly 100,000 tonnes of fish worth about $40 million annually from at least nine countries, including a distant one like Uruguay, might come as a surprise to many. But a FE report published last Wednesday has not only confirmed the figure but also pointed out the threefold increase in the volume of fish import since 2009-10. It is, however, natural for a country with an ever-expanding population vis-à-vis fast disappearing water bodies to increase its fish import.
But what is worrying is the quality of the imported fish. The samples of the imported fish are reportedly not sufficiently tested at the entry points to detect the presence of any harmful chemicals and heavy metals. The Fish Inspection and Quality Control agency of the government does carry out tests only to find out the presence of formalin as required under the official import policy though it had detected the presence of heavy metals beyond the permissible limits during a special test done last year on one of the consignments of imported fish. It does appear that the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock has strong reservations about the quality of imported fish.
The imported fish being cheaper as against locally produced ones are generally consumed by low-income people, particularly in the northern part of the country. Fish importers claim that the imported fish meet the protein requirement of the poor and low income people. Under the circumstances, it is the poor people who remain exposed to consumption of contaminated fish. However, fish importers and a section of officials of the ministry concerned do have opposing views on the quality of imported fish. Importers allege that the vested quarters are hatching conspiracy to stop import of fish to give freehand to a few large local fish farms while the officials accuse the importers of bringing in substandard fish taking advantage of lacunae in the import policy.
Since the Ministry of Fisheries is aware of the import of fish of 'substandard' quality, it does have the responsibility of stopping the entry of the same. Instead of accusing the traders, the officials concerned should do whatever necessary to protect the poor consumers. They should have notified the Ministry of Commerce long ago about the alleged import of substandard fish, suggesting necessary changes in the import policy.
There is no denying that there exists a large gap between demand and supply of fish in the domestic market. The gap in all likelihood would widen further in the coming days, leading to a continuous rise in the volume of fish import. So, it would be better for the relevant ministries and agencies to take necessary measures to ensure the entry of quality and contamination-free fish into the country. The government should make necessary changes in the import policy to facilitate all the quality tests on the consignments of imported fish. And the ministry of fisheries on its part should upgrade its laboratory tests at the ports of entry.
Import of substandard fish
FE Team | Published: September 05, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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