The Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has urged the Director-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) to take up with the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry a proposal to set up a Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) approved fish and fisheries products’ testing and certification laboratory in Mangaluru. This is aimed at providing a boost toexports from the coastal and other parts of Karnataka.
In a letter to the Additional Director-General of Foreign Trade, Bengaluru, on November 11, the president of KCCI Issac Vas said that the establishment of the laboratory will go a long way in bettering the fisheries industry and accelerating economic development in the region.
He said that the College of Fisheries in Mangaluru has given an in-principle approval for allotting space for the laboratory in Mangaluru.
The letter said that undivided Dakshina Kannada is a hub for fishing industries. The two districts exported an average of 1.18 lakh tonnes of fish and fisheries’ products per annum.
For the export of fish and fisheries’ products, the exporter must get the fish tested at a MPEDA Quality Control Laboratory and the nearest one is at Kochi. This causes a delay of around six working days.
At times, the test results are available after 10 working days. As a result of these delays, the industry is facing several constraints. There is a block on working capital for the industry as the exporter cannot export the product on a timely basis.
