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| Saudi Arabia lifts ban on Indian seafood imports |
| George Joseph / Kochi May 07, 2009, 00:05 IST |
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Saudi Arabia has lifted the ban imposed on the import of fish and other sea products including farm products from India. The ban was imposed on seafood items in a number of countries affected with cholera, a few years back.
Vibrio cholerae, a type of pathogen, was detected in samples exported from India and other south Asian countries that led to the ban imposition.
Recently, a delegation from Saudi Arabia visited sea food processing centres in India and held discussions with the officials of the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) and Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI).
The delegation was impressed with the arrangements made by the Indian seafood industry for maintaining international quality standards and hence decided to lift the ban.
Saudi Arabia has lifted the ban by adopting stricter quality conditions on exports to the country. A health certificate as mentioned in the handbook of the import of food stuff through the exit points of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, issued by a competent government authority, should be enclosed with each consignment. This is to ensure that it is free from cholera or any other epidemic disease.
A letter issued in this regard by the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia said that at the arrival of the consignment of sea products to the ports of Saudi Arabia, random samples would be taken for tests in the laboratories of quality control. In case it is found that the products are contaminated with the microbe of cholera and are not in accordance with the Gulf Standard Specification, the consignment would be rejected and re-exported to the country of origin.
The Export Inspection Agency (EIA) has beefed up the quality check of consignments to Saudi Arabia. EIA will take samples from each consignment and test prior to shipment. EIA will issue the required health certificates for export to Saudi Arabia.
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