UNB, Dhaka :
Traders in fish import are in deep soup over a new government move that made testing of all imported fish shipments a prerequisite for their sales in the domestic market.
Fish importers find it difficult to follow given the fact that fish is a perishable commodity and imported shipments are getting stuck in port queue.
Previousely there was a provision for testing 10 percent of imported fish as a check but now it has been made mandatory that cent percent of the consignments have to go through testing process.
Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) recently issued the directive for importers not to sell imported fish before being tested, putting businessmen in a precarious situation.
Officials of BFSA said that the fish will only be cleared after being tested and approved from their laboratories.
Sensing huge losses and risk, the fish importers met with BFSA officials on January 15, and bothside agreed that the imported fish
will not be left to rot in the port rather, those would be in custody of respective importers till the time the consignments are cleared for marketing by the authorities.
A few consignments have already been sent to Bangladesh Atomic Energy Laboratory for relevant tests.
If any importer fails to comply with this then they will have to face strict legal actions.
According to the Sea Fish Importers Association, over 80,000 MT to 1 lakh MT of fish is imported annually from countries like India, Australia, Myanmar, Pakistan and others, meeting 20 to 25 percent of the market demand.
BFSA justified its stringent directive by referring to allegations of presence of hazardous chemicals, and false laboratory approvals against a section of unscrupulous fish importers.
Traders in fish import are in deep soup over a new government move that made testing of all imported fish shipments a prerequisite for their sales in the domestic market.
Fish importers find it difficult to follow given the fact that fish is a perishable commodity and imported shipments are getting stuck in port queue.
Previousely there was a provision for testing 10 percent of imported fish as a check but now it has been made mandatory that cent percent of the consignments have to go through testing process.
Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) recently issued the directive for importers not to sell imported fish before being tested, putting businessmen in a precarious situation.
Officials of BFSA said that the fish will only be cleared after being tested and approved from their laboratories.
Sensing huge losses and risk, the fish importers met with BFSA officials on January 15, and bothside agreed that the imported fish
will not be left to rot in the port rather, those would be in custody of respective importers till the time the consignments are cleared for marketing by the authorities.
A few consignments have already been sent to Bangladesh Atomic Energy Laboratory for relevant tests.
If any importer fails to comply with this then they will have to face strict legal actions.
According to the Sea Fish Importers Association, over 80,000 MT to 1 lakh MT of fish is imported annually from countries like India, Australia, Myanmar, Pakistan and others, meeting 20 to 25 percent of the market demand.
BFSA justified its stringent directive by referring to allegations of presence of hazardous chemicals, and false laboratory approvals against a section of unscrupulous fish importers.
