China allowed Pakistan to export fish meal to its markets for one more year, after its quality inspectors approved the country’s fisheries management, sources said on Saturday. China, they said, has enlisted four processing plants to allow their food export to its markets including M/s Kanpa International Sales, M/s Abideen and Company, M/s M A Proteins and M/s Intermarket International.
After a thorough evaluation of a fisheries report on Pakistan, four companies, China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) made the decision, they said. “The AQSIQ approved the ‘improvement report’ which Marine Fisheries Department (MFD) had provided to it on December 10 2012 on the country’s fish meal processing and export for further period of one year,” sources said.
Deputy Division Chief AQSIQ conveyed his government’s approval to the four fish meal processing plants to Director General, MFD, Shaukat Hussain in a letter on February 25, this year, they said. “An AQSIQ delegation visited Pakistan during May and June 2011 to evaluate the inspection, supervision and quarantine system on fish meal, fish oil and aquatic animal protein being produced by fish meal processors/exporters,” they said.
They said, however, inspectors showed satisfaction over the plants management of meal and allowed them to continue their export to China. “The inspectors, however, presented certain suggestions for further improvements in the processing of meal”, they said. After the processing plants improved their products quality, the MFD submitted an “improvement report” to the AQSIQ, suggesting continuation of export. After a thorough evaluation of the report, the AQSIC accepted it and allowed Pakistan to export the meal to China, they said. They said the MFD plans to include more fish meal exporting companies in the list to make shipments to China in future, if such companies met the global sanitary specifications.
Business Recorder, 2013