EU lifts mandatory testing on BD fishes

Monira Munni The EU has finally withdrawn its mandatory 20 per cent rigorous checking on fishes exported from Bangladesh giving a big boost to the country's shipments to the group of 27 nations, officials said Saturday. Bangladeshi frozen fish export is no longer subject to mandatory stringent testing upon arrival at EU borders to detect the presence of residues of a series of veterinary medicines from mid-November, they added. The official journal of the European Union (EU) on November 15 said, "Article 3 which provides that member states are to ensure that official samples are taken from at least 20 per cent of the consignments of crustaceans imported from Bangladesh and that of those official samples are to undergo analytical tests for the detection of the presence of residues of pharmacologically active substances -- is deleted." The removal of the above mentioned measure received a favourable response from member states' representatives at the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCFCAH) meeting held on October 17, said a report published on an EU website. The decision was taken as the EU Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) in Bangladesh found everything up to the mark during a visit of its team in March-April, 2011, it added. Early this year, a three-member FVO team from EU reviewed the country's present situation of residue control in live animals and animal products and the control mechanism for veterinary medical products. The team also reviewed the implementation of public health and residue control requirement in aquaculture products from root level to the production level, so that health hazard-causing agents or drugs cannot enter the bodies of shrimps meant for export. The EU that accounts for more than 50 per cent of the shrimps Bangladesh ships to the world, last year imposed a 20 per cent mandatory testing requirement on each shipment of shrimps from Bangladesh as part of its rigorous quality control drive. Exporters and officials expressed the hope that shrimp export to EU would increase up to 15-20 per cent this fiscal after the withdrawal of the mandatory checking. "It is a great news for us marking our improvements and standards," Joint Secretary of Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock told the FE. Now we will get the dividend for improving the quality that the recent FVO team suggested, he said expressing the hope that the withdrawal will boost the country's fish export growth up to 20 per cent as it will reduce the hazards that unduly delayed the consignments, he added. Director of Apex Foods Limited Ashim Kumar Barua said country's exports were unduly delayed due to this tough testing measure. The EU importers also punish us by offering cheaper rates. "But now it will save both time and money as Bangladeshi exporters have to pay for the mandatory testing at EU ports," he explained adding exporters will get good price of the products. Earlier importers were reluctant to import Bangladeshi fishery products due to this mandatory requirement, he said adding now uncertainty and worries of both importers and exporters will be removed. The great achievement is that the decision has upheld Bangladesh's image of making quality and antibiotics free products and also the credibility of the competent authority, Mr Barua added. President of Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters Association (BFFEA) Kazi Shahnewaz said there would be hardly any impediments to export as there would be no mandatory checking. The EU now tests shrimp consignment from Bangladesh at random -- a standard being followed all over the world. Most other fish exporting nations including Vietnam and Thailand also undergo similar testing procedure, he said. Bangladesh has improved its testing system through increasing laboratory capacity and efficiency and installing a good number of modern equipments, a senior official of Department of Fisheries (DoF) said. The country fetched $625 million from frozen fish export during the July-June period of 2010-11 fiscal marking a 40 per cent growth. The industry employs more than a million people mainly in the country's impoverished southwestern coastal districts.