…says private sector head
A recent ban imposed on the export of all Siluriformes fish and fish products (catfish species) from Guyana could have a significant impact on local fishers, but the Private Sector Commission (PSC) believes this matter could be addressed if companies work along with Government to ensure that the ban is lifted.
PSC President Eddie Boyer claimed that there was some discussion on the issue when it was brought to his attention that some containers of fish were rejected by the United States authority. He said the failure of these exporters to meet the requirements may have triggered the imposition of this ban.
Denzil Roberts
Director, Dr Ozaye Dodson
“I would imagine that the exporters would try to resolve this as early as possible, bearing the fact that these bans happen from time to time. And we have to work quickly to resolve it – Government, private companies that are exporting because it is not something that has not happened before,” he stated.
However, a private fishing company owner told Guyana Times International that the issue that must be looked into was what caused the ban to be imposed. According to the businessperson who asked not to be named, said the Agriculture Ministry, which has responsibility for the fisheries sector, should have ensured quality assurance.
Chief Fisheries Officer Denzil Roberts told sections of the media that the ban was imposed after it was found that the local Siluriformes fish and fish products’ inspection system was not equivalent to the US inspection system. Roberts was also able to confirm that the Veterinary Public Health Unit of the Public Health Ministry was not able to satisfy the requirements demanded by the US.
Guyana was unable to comply with several US conditions mainly due to factors such as modification of inspection procedures and outdated regulations, including those governing fisheries products, which Guyana is in the process of revising. The Health and Agriculture Ministries have general oversight and responsibility for the sector and monitor and verify the quality of products.
The businessman contended that the Government should have known long before that these systems needed to be updated and improved, because compliance was a major issue when it came to exports to the US. He maintained that the Government erred in a major way by not preparing these companies to comply with the standards set out by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Roberts told the media that the Ministry was now working on “trying to fix these deficiencies”, by modifying the Inspection Procedures manual and the regulations among other things. The Fisheries Department and the Veterinary Public Health Unit are working together on this.
Although describing the ban as a “big blow,” Veterinary Public Health Unit Director, Dr Ozaye Dodson has said that the imposition from the US export market was just a temporary technical barrier to trade. Dr Dodson said the move by the USDA was a “protectionist measure” by that country’s public health system lobbied for by the catfish farmers who have invested heavily to develop the industry there.
Guyana’s Veterinary Public Health Unit has been mandated under the 2002 Fisheries Act and the Fish and Fishery Product Regulations of 2003 with guidance of the inspections manual to monitor, inspect and certify vessels, landing sites, fish processing establishments and fishery products for the local and export markets.
Dr Dodson said there were daily inspections and certification of the catfish products to guarantee their “wholesomeness for human consumption”.
The US Food Safety Inspection Services (FSIS) asked Guyana to provide the relevant documentation to verify this country’s inspection system equivalence to the US standards or its equivalent public health system. Dr Dodson claimed that Guyana complied with the request.
However, the country fell short of the US standards in three areas: firstly, on the issue of the presence of inspectors; secondly, there was insufficient documentation detailing verification of each step in the sanitation and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) process and thirdly, there was insufficient documentation specifying how the industry manages adulterated catfish products.
New US standards for import of catfish species demand the presence of inspectors at plants for one hour during an eight-hour shift. Dr Dodson explained that Guyana’s inspection system utilised a “risk-based approach”, which is a European Union (EU) standard.
Guyana was among several countries banned recently from the US catfish export sector. The other countries were Bangladesh, Canada, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria, and Pakistan.
