Official team set to visit Brussels next week
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
FE Report
An official team, led by commerce secretary Md Ghulam Hussain, is scheduled to visit Brussels next week with a view to convincing the European Union (EU) officials concerned to lift the recent stringent testing requirement imposed on shrimp consignments from Bangladesh, sources said.
Other members of the seven-member team include representatives from Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association, Bangladesh Shrimp and Fish Foundation and Export Promotion Bureau.
The 27-nation regional grouping, in a recent notification, restricted the use of crystal violet (one kind of dye) in frozen fish, setting a limit to 0.5 parts per billion (PPB).
The EU authority has also refused to accept certificate on the presence of crystal violet, issued by the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, resulting in the build up of a huge container backlog of shrimps exported to European countries from Bangladesh, an official in the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) said.
Furthermore, the EU has recently decided to test, at least, 20 per cent of the shrmp consignments heading to its ports from Bangladesh, he added.
"It's a major cause of concern for the Bangladesh shrimp exporters as the measures will lead to the delay in clearing the shrimp containers by the customs departments of European countries," the official said.
He said, "The EU Seafood Importers and Processing Alliance has assured us of lobbying with their authorities in favour of Bangladesh."
When asked, a team member said they would try to convince the EU authorities that the testing facilities in Bangladesh have improved a lot in recent period. The refusal to accept the certificate of Bangladesh on crystal violet by EU customs and imposition of mandatory 20 per cent testing requirement, instead of random sampling, would harm the export interest of the country to European region, he said.
He, however, could not say whether the EU authorities would lift their measure following their tour. The shrimp exporters said the tour should have been organized prior to the imposition of the stringent measures.
They said the government should at least try now to convince the EU officials to protect the interest of exporters.
The country exports frozen foods worth around $500 million to EU countries per year.
An official team, led by commerce secretary Md Ghulam Hussain, is scheduled to visit Brussels next week with a view to convincing the European Union (EU) officials concerned to lift the recent stringent testing requirement imposed on shrimp consignments from Bangladesh, sources said.
Other members of the seven-member team include representatives from Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association, Bangladesh Shrimp and Fish Foundation and Export Promotion Bureau.
The 27-nation regional grouping, in a recent notification, restricted the use of crystal violet (one kind of dye) in frozen fish, setting a limit to 0.5 parts per billion (PPB).
The EU authority has also refused to accept certificate on the presence of crystal violet, issued by the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, resulting in the build up of a huge container backlog of shrimps exported to European countries from Bangladesh, an official in the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) said.
Furthermore, the EU has recently decided to test, at least, 20 per cent of the shrmp consignments heading to its ports from Bangladesh, he added.
"It's a major cause of concern for the Bangladesh shrimp exporters as the measures will lead to the delay in clearing the shrimp containers by the customs departments of European countries," the official said.
He said, "The EU Seafood Importers and Processing Alliance has assured us of lobbying with their authorities in favour of Bangladesh."
When asked, a team member said they would try to convince the EU authorities that the testing facilities in Bangladesh have improved a lot in recent period. The refusal to accept the certificate of Bangladesh on crystal violet by EU customs and imposition of mandatory 20 per cent testing requirement, instead of random sampling, would harm the export interest of the country to European region, he said.
He, however, could not say whether the EU authorities would lift their measure following their tour. The shrimp exporters said the tour should have been organized prior to the imposition of the stringent measures.
They said the government should at least try now to convince the EU officials to protect the interest of exporters.
The country exports frozen foods worth around $500 million to EU countries per year.