April 05, 2007	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 16, 1428

KARACHI, April 4: The fishermen community fears decline in rates of seafood items when the EC ban comes into effect from April 12, while the exporters and trawler owners appear not highly worried about losing the European Union market.

Director Fishermen Cooperative Society (FCS) Shafi Mohammad Jamote told Dawn on Wednesday that the ban may result in price decline particularly in those seafood items which were exported to the EU countries.

“I think shrimp price will decline by Rs25-30 per kg in initial days of the ban,” he said, adding that cuttlefish rates would fall to Rs48-50 from the current Rs60 per kg.

“Fish processing units will try to find new markets for the EU related items but they will not fetch the same price as they do get for the EU countries. As a result the fishermen will be offered less rates for their catch by the exporters,” he explained.

So far fish rates have been pegged to the same rates.

Mr Jamote said that the EC ban would hit over 300,000 fishermen who had already been suffering owing to low productivity of sea resources and increase in their operational cost making it difficult for them to take care of their 2.4 million family members.

He said that there were about 3,000 shrimp trawlers but only 200-300 were operating these days because of looming crisis.

Executive Member Pakistan Seafood Industries Association (PSIA) Akhlaq Hussain Abidi told Dawn that the EC ban might not be a big problem for the exporters as had already been exporting squid and cuttlefish to Far Eastern and African markets.

About ensuring fair prices to fishermen, Mr Abidi disclosed that the stakeholders of the fish industry would request the Sindh government not to impose ban on shrimp catch during June to July.

Usually, he said that the fish harbor used to witness daily landing of at least 200,000 kg of shrimps in August and September as a result of ban on shrimp catching in June and July.

In case the ban on shrimp catching is not implemented this season then the daily landing of shrimp will range 30,000-40,000 kg in August and September and fishermen can easily manage to sell it at normal rates, he elaborated. The exporters too will be able to find and sale shrimps in different markets. Currently daily shrimp arrivals of various weights ranges between 10,000-12,000 kg, he added.

He said that the exporters had already suspended the loading of EU destined seafood shipments from March 12 keeping in view that the EC would not accept any shipments from Pakistan from April 12, 2007.

Chairman Sindh Trawlers Owners and Fishermen Association Mama Arsala Khan Niazi told Dawn that he did not see any major threat to the industry from the EC ban.

He said that currently processing plants were lifting shrimps from the fishermen at higher rates. He added that shrimp was now selling between Rs200-220 per kg as compared to Rs150-160 few days back.

The processing plants were either piling up stocks as fresh catch was arriving in smaller quantities or they were selling shrimps to other destinations, he added.

He said so far there had been no drop in cuttlefish rates hovering around Rs80-110 per kg depending on the weight while squid price ranged Rs60-70 per kg.

He, however, urged the government to lift the ban on shrimp catching during June-July so that rate could remain stable.

On the other hand the European Commission (EC) is reported to have released the report pointing the real deficiencies in the processing plants and other areas but exporters said that the Marine Fisheries Department (MFD) of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL) has yet to provide the report to the exporters.

An official in the MINFAL told Dawn that he did not have the report and the MFD was the right department from where exporters can get it.