The fact that EU states have often barred the entry of Pakistani food consignments, provides a disturbing measure of the extent of adulteration of our foodstuffs and food preparations. This has not only resulted in loss of a precious source of foreign exchange earning, but has also hurt our exports' acceptability and Pakistan's general image elsewhere abroad, which is a more serious matter.
Britain, Greece, Germany and Italy were the major EU states where most of Pakistan's export consignments were confiscated between May 2004 and October 2007, according to details made available to Business Recorder. The action was taken under the provisions of EU's "Rapid Alert System for Food" for failing to meet the required standards, ie inspection, testing of products for their quality, specifications, and the import and export parameters, which fall within the purview of Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) Act.
The confiscated items included a vast array of foodstuffs and food preparations. Other EU countries where Pakistani food items and food preparations have been subjected to entry restrictions include Norway, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Poland, Denmark and Netherlands.
In view of the tightening EU curbs and WTO's Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), many officials rightly believe that it would be in the larger national interest for the government to extend the role of PSQCA to the quality of exports. (This was done up to 1992-1993).
It will be recalled that the European Union Commission had clamped a blanket ban on seafood imports from Pakistan as a result of which all 11 of our seafood processing units were de-listed, and it was said that EU seafood import orders, originally meant for Pakistan, were diverted to other countries.
A major part of the problem is the absence of an adequate monitoring mechanism for food items to ensure high standard of purity. The European Union states, like other developed countries of the world, are very keen to ensure international standards of quality and purity of food items. But in Pakistan adulteration of spices, pickles, jams etc is common, and these items are also exported. Canned frozen vegetables and fruit are other major export items that substantially add to our forex earnings.
Rice is yet another major export item, and it is said that many Dubai-based Indian importers are repackaging and marketing Pakistani rice as Indian product because Pakistani rice is known for its good taste and aroma. However, many of our exporters have not scrupulously adhered to what is described on the package regarding the content.
This has generated a credibility gap, which the European importers find very discouraging. Incidentally, industrial chemicals, being much cheaper, are often used as food colours, which are extremely injurious to human health, as these can cause cancer and other deadly diseases. Textile dyes are also added to many food items, which must be stopped.
Careful monitoring by food inspectors, coupled with extensive testing of food samples in laboratories should be regularly done. Above all, export promotion personnel should play their role more carefully to block export of sub-standard foodstuff.
Establishment of more food testing laboratories to check all export consignments before shipment can help solve the problem to a large extent. (It is said that some exporters are using calcium carbide to artificially ripen mangoes, to meet urgent export orders!)
The World Bank has often raised with the Pakistan government the issue of poor quality of its exports, and has also warned the authorities that this would damage the country's export sector. But the departments and agencies involved in the export sector have apparently done little to ensure the quality of exports.
The World Bank has attributed the current lax quality control to the absence of a foolproof monitoring mechanism, largely because of the lack of a coherent strategy at the national level.
Improving food quality and safety in fisheries, horticulture and meat/livestock should be the top priority areas for Pakistan to make its exports competitive. A regulatory framework should also be evolved to support Pakistan's international trade objectives and obligations.
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