KARACHI, May 6: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) has asked Federal Minister for Science and Technology Tehmina Daultana to take note of gross violation of assigning the task of pre-shipment inspection of rice consignments to the Quality Review Committee (QRC) by the TDAP.

Unisame president Zulfikar Thaver in a statement on Tuesday said that the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan had not taken into account the fact that the QRC was not eligible to conduct pre-shipment inspection of any commodity as it had not been registered with the Pakistan Standard Quality Control Authority (PSQCA).

He pointed out that the QRC was being managed by rice exporters themselves and that was why the international buyers made it a point to nominate their own PSI company.

He said to make matter worse the TDAP was contemplating to further assign the task of pre-shipment inspection of non-basmati rice to the QRC, which has been carrying out unlawfully PSI of basmati rice for the last many years.

He added that this had caused great concern to the small exporters who had been complaining of highhandedness and unfair treatment at the QRC counters.

Any inspection company private or public, local or foreign has to be enlisted and registered by the PSQCA which issues licence to only those companies or bodies who have complied with the strict requirements of international laws, standards and practices, he elaborated.

He said that the QRC being managed by the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (Reap) did not have a laboratory and expertise and did not qualify for registration as PSI company.

A PSI company has to be a third party, independent, impartial and transparent body well-equipped with the instruments and personnel and it has to be a joint stock company and registered with the PSQCA. It cannot carry out PSI until and unless it has been granted permission by the PSQCA.

An official of the PSQCA who requested anonymity said QRC was violating the principles of PSI and action must be taken against it.