KARACHI – Due to the mounting cost of doing business in the fisheries sector it seems that the Pakistani firms will not be able to meet standards determined by the European Union (EU). He pointed out that if standards are maintained, firms are compelled to lower buying rates of raw material in which case the ultimate sufferer will be the fisherman who is already suffering due to skyrocketing fuel prices.
As a direct result there would also be a sharp fall in exports. Elaborating on the ban placed by the EU on Pakistani fish exports, he said that the government has not yet been able to induce inspection of the industry by the EU. Instead, the Karachi Fish Harbor Authority has of its own violation, started the inspection of local companies and they plan to communicate the results onwards to the EU. It is expected that the union might approve the results and lift the ban on the Pakistani fishing exports, he added.
He informed that traceability was a major concern of the EU authorities during their previous inspection of the Pakistani fishing sector and that the Pakistani authorities have failed to establish complete records of the fish catching as they do not keep records from where they are sourcing raw material. He disclosed that not a single Pakistani container was rejected by the union during the time of the ban on Pakistan, yet it was the inability of the concerned authorities.
He stressed that this sector requires technical officials and it is sad to note that we lack technical experts in the concerned authorities, he added. He made it clear that the EU does not have any objection per se of Pakistani fish products as it has always been found tolerable by them. In addition, he emphasised that Pakistani companies carry organ electric and chemical tests in laboratories that guarantees the viability and freshness of the fish.
When questioned as to the reason why Indonesia recently rejected some 40 containers of Pakistani fish, he claimed that these were relatively inexpensive fish products and after the rejection of the fish, their price was significantly decreased and stressed that the import of the fish by Indonesian businessmen contravened the rules determined by the Indonesian government that only allows the import of fish for industrial use.
While explaining, he stated that according to the rules number 852 and 853 of EU Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) must be maintained that include maintaining of minus 35 degree centigrade, must have continuous temperature record, protective clothing for the staff. It is to be noted that HACCP is a management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of biological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product.
Elaborating on his own business he said ‘I established a family owned company in fisheries, initially invested in boats and bought three trawlers from United Fisheries of Kuwait for $400,000 in 1987and it took seven months to clear them through customs.’ A European consultant then advised him to establish a sea food processing plant in Karachi Fish Harbor. He began current operations in 2001 after establishing the European Union approved plant with completely imported machinery.’
This was a million dollar investment in the business of frozen fishing, and now we are doing exports of Rs 500million a year to many countries including Thailand, Malaysia, China, Vietnam and others, he added. About the export potential of this sector, he said it could be boosted to $750 million if we increase our utilisation up to 70 percent, presently it is 30 percent. He informed that the smuggling of fish to Iran costs Pakistan up to $2.0 million a year by dint of very high rates set by the Iranian government for specific kind of fish on religious basis.
For example, Iran has set the price of Surmai fish as Rs 600 per kg against its local price of Rs 300 per kg, while the price of Mushka fish set by Iran is around Rs 300 per kg against its local price of Rs 150 per kg, resultantly the fisherman prefers to sell the fish to Iran instead of receiving low prices in Pakistan, he informed. He questioned the government’s stance and underlined that it was another major issue affecting industry.
He alluded to the possibility that the government was collaborating with the Iranian government and received benefits through barter, he added. To a query, he responded that foreign trawlers have gone back due to increasing diesel prices and due to the fact that we have relatively low fish catch. Speaking on future ambitions, he stated he is planning to add value to his business by setting up a cooking plant, because raw material is depleting.
