EU likely to extend ban for more than one year

Rezaul Karim | Published: May 09, 2016 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

The European Union (EU) is likely to extend the ban on import of betel leaves (paan) from Bangladesh for more than one year due to non-compliance with EU relevant rules, officials said. Â
The EU has recently given the embassy of Bangladesh, Brussels a hint about the extension of the ban on import of betel leaves.
The ban on import of betel leaves is scheduled to expire in June, 2016, according to sources in the Export Promotion Bureau.
Tapan Kanti Ghosh, minister (commerce), Bangladesh embassy in Brussels, has urged the commerce ministry to take urgent measures in this regard.
"We mentioned EU's demand that the authorities concerned of Bangladesh send a letter to the director general (SANCO) of the European Commission (EC) assuring that henceforth each consignment of paan leaves would be accompanied by health certificate, complying with EC regulation 852/2004," according to the letter.
As the commission has not received any such assurance as yet, the EC is contemplating to extend the existing ban on import of paan leaves from Bangladesh, they added.
"I have been informed informally by the EC that this time, the ban may be extended for more than one year," Tapan Kanti Ghosh mentioned in the letter.
He has requested the senior secretary of the ministry of commerce (MoC) for taking necessary steps so that the EC doesn't resort to the extension of the import ban on the leaves beyond June 30, 2016.
On May 07 last, a meeting was held on the overall export situation of vegetables including betel leaves to the EU countries, Mafruha Sultana, Vice Chairman of the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), told the FE. But she declined to give more details in this regard.
The restriction was first imposed in February 2015 for a period until June 30, 2015 as health hazardous bacteria was found in several consignments of betel leaves.
The government has taken various measures including installation of cooling chain and ensuring the quality to help boost the country's export of vegetables especially to the European Union (EU) countries.
Senior secretary of the commerce ministry Hedayetullah Al Mamoon could not be reached for his comments in this regard.
The EU is a major market for Bangladesh's vegetables and fruits including betel leaves. Export of fruits and vegetables from Bangladesh to the EU and has been hampered in recent times due to complexities over phyto-sanitary certification.
In the fiscal year (FY) 2014Â15, the volume of vegetables export was nearly Tk 10 billion in different countries.
Of the total exports, about 42Â45 per cent fruits and vegetables were exported to Europe, according to the Bangladesh Fruits, Vegetables and Allied Products Exporters Association (BFVAPEA).
Betel leaf is widely chewed by the people in the subcontinent. It is also popular among many expatriates living in the European countries.
Bangladesh earns more or less US$ 8.0 million per year by exporting betel leaves to the UK, according to the commerce ministry.
The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) of the UK detected salmonella bacterium in Bangladesh's betel leaf. Afterwards, the agency requested the UK government to ban import of betel leaf from Bangladesh.
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