RMG should follow fishery's lead

Third from right, Abdul Latif Biswas, fisheries and livestock minister, and William Hanna, head of EU delegation to Bangladesh, pose with copies of a booklet on fisheries at a seminar at Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka yesterday.Photo: STAR

The country's fisheries sector can serve as an example for the garment sector facing threats of export ban from the US and the European Union (EU), a top diplomat said yesterday.
“The government and the private sector have worked together to promptly resolve the problems in the fisheries sector since issues of safety and quality of products were raised by European importers,” said William Hanna, head of the EU delegation to Bangladesh.
Better food safety in production and processing of shrimps and improved testing have led to the lifting of the mandatory testing of the exported products in Europe, he said.
“The compliance in this sector could be a model for the readymade garment industries.”
Hanna's comments came at a discussion on ways to better promote Bangladesh's fishery products in the global market, organised by the Department of Fisheries and United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).
Hanna, however, urged all stakeholders in the fisheries sector to remain on guard over safety issues.
“The risk is not over. Things can change in a week. The audit team of the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) of the European Commission can visit anytime.”
The EU decided to withdraw the mandatory testing on food consignments from Bangladesh following positive feedback from a visiting FVO audit team in March, 2012.
“There is no alternative to ensuring quality and compliance of the fish production and processing in the country if the earning from fisheries export is to be sustained,” said Abdul Latif Biswas, minister for fisheries and livestock.
He said the country's testing capacity has improved vastly owing to the two new laboratories in Khulna and Chittagong.
“An international-standard laboratory is on the way in Savar,” Biswas said, adding that much work still remains to be done to get international accreditation.
The minister also urged the government agencies concerned to take stern actions against the use of banned and unauthorised chemicals, drugs, pesticides and feeds in fisheries.
The fishery sector supports livelihood of nearly 20 lakh people, with its exports in fiscal 2010-11 being Tk 4,604 crore.
A booklet on the achievements made in the fisheries production under the Better Work and Standards Programme-Better Fisheries Quality Project, jointly implemented by the DOF and UNIDO, over the last three years, was unveiled at the event.
Ujjal Bikash Dutta, secretary of the fisheries and livestock ministry; Syed Arif Azad, director general of the department of fisheries; and Dr TS Shetty of UNIDO, Mahmudul Hossain, Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters' Association, also spoke on the occasion.