Pakistan continues to face the European Union's (EU) ban on its seafood export largely for global political reasons, as concerned officials and fishermen believe the continuous ban is more to do with the Nato's military failure in Afghanistan against the Taliban insurgents in the ongoing war on terror rather than the hygiene concerns.
The EU is using the ban as pressure tool to subdue Pakistan for its military gains in the war on terror, despite the country's fisheries sector is greatly developed in the entire region, the fisheries officials told Business Recorder on Tuesday. The EU ban has entered the sixth year without any progress whether or not the country would be able to export its fisheries products to the union's bloc of 27 countries, officials said, adding that "the ban has inflicted at least $300 million loss on Pakistan's national exchequer since April, 18 2006."
"Pakistan's largest fish harbour of Karachi is more developed in terms of infrastructure, boats, processing units and auction halls in the entire region even than that of India," Managing Director, Karachi Fish Harbour Authority (KFHA), Abdul Ghani Jokhio, told Business Recorder.
He said that EU's political motives were behind the ban, which had negative economic implications for Pakistan, adding that the sanction continues despite the government has initiated a huge investment plan to modernise the harbour's infrastructure to address the Union's concerns.
He, however, acknowledged that some unsolved issues had contributed in prolonging the ban for six years, as the fisheries sector was completely neglected in the past. He said the EU's ban would have not been that longer if its commission's queries had aptly been responded.
Jokhio said the government had produced 400 big and small modified fishing boats in line with the global standards, despite its initial assurance to EU for only 200 such boats. He said that the Pakistani boats were sophisticated and durable to maintain the hygienic standards of seafood in their holds.
He opined that the ban had helped the sector to review its policies and develop the harbour on modern lines. He added that the KFHA had also taken several steps to safeguard the marine life from extinction through illegal fishing. He hoped the country would soon be able to resume its fisheries export to Europe, as the government had undertaken scores of key projects to convince the EU that it was producing quality seafood products.
Regarding the marine pollution, Jokhio said the authority had initiated talks with concerned civic and government's environmental departments to protect the sea and its creatures from toxic and lethal materials. He said the authority had also approved a project of reverse osmosis to install a plant to treat the seawater for fisheries processing use at the harbour. He said the project was part of the harbour's master plan.
The KFHA MD said the fishery was one of the country's key export-oriented sectors, providing jobs to large numbers of people, adding that the government would leave no stone unturned to augment it. However, he said, the government has to first solve all the key disturbing issues to streamline this sector.
He said the authority had banned political activities inside the harbour's red zone to keep the port operations continued without any disruption even in days of violence in the city. He said all the government departments were now co-ordinating with each other to get the EU ban lifted as soon as possible. "The EU ban on Pakistan's seafood export is politically motivated although there are some other issues which allowed the Union to use its economic discretion," Patron of Sindh Trawlers Owners and Fishermen Association (Stofa), Sarwar Siddiqui told Business Recorder.
He said there seemed no rationale behind such a prolonged ban on the country's seafood export despite Pakistan's fisheries sector had developed its basic infrastructure so fast to attain the global standards. He said the ban had cost Pakistan dearly at a lead period when the country had needed a greater financial assistance from its export-oriented sectors including fisheries. However, he termed the ban a 'blessing in disguise,' which left the country's seafood exporters disparate to find new markets for their products.
"The ban eventually helped Pakistan to explore new and different markets for its products and now the EU is no more a larger market for it," Siddiqui said, adding that "if shrimp export to EU starts today it may make a difference but not the fish." He pointed out that the EU was importing seafood products from India - a country which had no comparison with Pakistan's fisheries sector, raising eyebrows at the Europe's political and diplomatic parameters.
To a question, he said "I don't know the game of EU as why it has continued its ban on Pakistan's fisheries export," adding that the government had however played a key role for removing the ban by modifying fishing boats and other key installations. He said if the EU had any security concerns here in the county then it should have approached the Pakistani government through its diplomatic channel to solve the issue.
He pointed out that recently an Austrian delegation had visited Karachi fish harbour to witness the fisheries activities and received briefing about the EU and Pakistan seafood export dilemma, saying that the country despite violence could be visited. "If visit is not possible, then it should consider the reports of Marine Fisheries Department of Pakistan about the fisheries sector development, which the EU had nominated its inspection authority," Siddiqui said.
However, an eminent seafood exporter and former legislator, Akhlaq Hussain Abedi, differed with the opinion of the fisheries' stakeholders and the government officials that the continuous EU ban was due to some political reasons. He blamed the previous management of Marine Fisheries Department (MFD) for not properly taking up the ban issue with the EU, which prolonged the sanction for five years. However, he said, the loss from the ban could not be assessed as there was no proper mechanism existed at present, adding, "We [Pakistan] suffered morally more than anything else because of the ban."
He hoped the country would soon be able to export its seafood products to Europe, saying that the present management of MFD was keenly fighting Pakistan's case with the EU to resume the country's seafood export. "Some documentation are needed to prove the country's seafood export are based on what the EU had demanded of the Pakistani government in 2007," he said, adding that the ban would have not prolonged for more than two years if the required dossiers had properly been presented.
He said there was no pressure from the EU on Pakistan for its war on terror in Afghanistan, however the government's departments had mishandled the issue, which led to the ban in first phase and then extension in it for five years. President of Bona Fide Fishermen and Boat Owners Welfare Association, Asif Bhatti also believed the EU ban on Pakistan's fisheries export was a global conspiracy to weaken the nuclear country of the Muslim world.
However, he said, resumption of seafood export to the EU would help the small fishermen fetch greater prices for shrimp on the local market, saying "in all terms the exporters and brokers get maximum profit and the poor fishermen earn just few pennies for their catch in all seasons."
The country export of seafood was $188 million in 2006, went up to $212 million in 2007, $233.69 million in 2008, but declined in 2009 to $227 million. The export however surged to historic high in 2011 to $296 million, according to fisheries department. Officials said that the per unit price of fish and shrimp products had surged by over 100 percent since 2007 which helped the country gain maximum profit on the global market. However, they said, the volume of seafood export declined in these years.
They said the country's seafood export in terms of volume had been 123.88 metric tons in 2006, which increased to 134.667 metric tons in 2007, but declined in 2008 to 127.393 metric tons and further fell in 2009 to 113.219 metric tons, according to fisheries sector.