The crackdown on smuggling is yielding results. However, the food items smuggled through grey channels are still coming into the country and are very much available on the shelves of almost all the big supermarkets in big and small cities across the country. The focus on curbing this phenomenon is somehow absent.

It’s the responsibility of all the stakeholders working in the chain ranging from the federal tax authority (customs department), Ministry of Interior, and other agencies to curb smuggling at the country’s entry points, and provincial food authorities who are responsible for having food items available for sales conforming to specified standards.

An institutional coordination framework between all the requisite government bodies is needed to curb the smuggling of food items that are against SRO 237. Ministry of Commerce is the originator of SRO 237 in which the imported food items are required to have 66 percent shelf life at the time of import, have ingredients mentioned in both English and Urdu and have Halal certification from prescribed accredited authorities along with logo and labelling in specified format.

However, enforcement of the SRO 237 has been missing lately. The product is visible in supermarkets, and there is a blatant violation at the retail level. There are separate sections for food products not conforming to SRO 237. With the products visibly available in retail chains, the whole argument about curbing smuggling comes under serious doubt.

Provincial food authorities cannot be exonerated by shifting the blame on country entry points and agencies dealing with them. They must do their job. They are usually meticulous in ensuring food quality standards in restaurants. How on earth can they ignore the probable substandard food products in supermarkets?

The usual practice of importing food products is close to expiry, as these are available at discounts – which is a violation of 66 percent shelf life at the time of import. Then the practice of redating the products cannot be ruled out as well. And, at times, the expired products are being sold. Then there is no surety that the product is halal and conforms to domestic standards. The requisite cold chain and other standards are perhaps compromised in the value chain as well. Provincial food authorities need to pull up their socks and do what they are supposed to do.

Having said that, not all the blame should go to the provincial food authorities. The role of tax authorities is equally important. How can L/Cs be opened for these products? How do the containers get clearance from the customs department? And since the products are not being allowed, duty and taxes are also evaded.

Then the border handling agencies come under the interior ministry, and they are slacking as well. They do not stop the products at the border, during inland transportation, in warehouses of distributors, and eventually at the retail stores.

The issue is that the authorities are not talking to each other and passing the blame on the others. The Commerce Ministry being the originator is not talking to the provincial food authorities to ensure compliance at the retail level. If things are controlled at the retail level, the importer would lose the incentive to bring the illegal items. The coordination must be strengthened, and that cannot happen without developing an institutional framework. The Sooner it is done, the better it is.