Some fish and related products exporting countries from Sri Lanka have refused to buy such fish products following the fire on the X Press Pearl ship, President of the Sri Lanka Fisheries Exporters’ Association Dilan Fernando has said. He told the Nikkei Asia website that several fish product orders had been canceled and that the importers had been asked to certify the health of the products.
Importers of fish products have been forced to refuse to export fish products due to the contamination of Sri Lanka into the sea due to the stock of chemicals in the ship which caught fire while anchored off the coast of Colombo recently. According to the report, Several other buyers from Europe and Israel have informed Sri Lankan companies not to export seafood until the government provides the required safety clearance.
Even during the Covid crisis, there was a huge demand for Sri Lankan fish products in foreign countries and the fishing industry has earned around the US $ 300 million by 2020.
The President of the Fisheries Exporters’ Association further stated that the government should conduct scientific investigations in this regard as soon as possible and present safety certificates and assure these countries stating that Sri Lankan fish products are safe.
Last year, 429,150 metric tons of fish were imported from Sri Lankan waters, an industry responsible for 2.7 percent of Sri Lanka’s GDP.
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