September 20, 2002	Friday	Rajab 12, 1423

KARACHI, Sept 19: Small and medium size rice exporters have asked the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) not to insist for quality inspection of basmati rice because their consignment had been already certified by a reputed pre-shipment inspection agency.

The convener of Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) Zulfikar Thaver in a statement issued on Thursday, pointed out that the reputed inspection agencies were nominated for inspection either by buyer or the country of the buyer and these are companies who are carrying out inspection professionally under a system and have valid inspection licenses. Their certification cannot be set aside by Quality Review Committee (QRC), he added.

He said that Pre-shipment Inspection (PSI) is the prerogative of the buyers and the overseas customer insist on PSI by his nominated agents. When an exporter tells his customer that he is getting the cargo inspected by QRC, which is managed by Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (REAP) the buyers refuses to accept its certification.

The foreign buyer, he said, insists on inspection by his agent on the plea that exporter is a member of REAP and is directly or indirectly managing QRC although QRC is now virtually under the control of EPB.

In such circumstances, Thaver said, shipper has to undergo double PSI one by the buyers agent and other by Quality Review Committee which is superfluous. Moreover, the trade policy insists on quality check on Basmati but does not say that quality check by QRC is compulsory and the commerce minister had himself announced the removal of double PSI earlier at a function of Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan.