7 January
Two fish processing plants — TT Cold Store Factory and A&N Foods (Myanmar) Co. Ltd — were recently granted permission to export their products to the European Union. However, the factories can only export fish caught in the wild.
The Fisheries Department, under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Irrigation, is working with fish processors and exporters to ensure Myanmar fishery products meet the rules and regulations of importing countries, including the EU.
About 21 local fish factories have so far obtained permission to export their products to EU countries. TT Cold Store and A&N Foods were permitted to place their products in the EU market after they passed a screening. Myanmar has not allowed exports of farmed fish because of a lack of guarantee on their being free from biochemical residues. According to the National Residue Monitoring Plan, residue tests have to be conducted at each stage of production, including hatching, farming, feeding, and processing. To meet EU import standards, fishery products must be produced by only those hatcheries that are compliant with Good Aquaculture Practices (GAqP)
Myanmar exports products such as fish, prawn, and crabs to 40 foreign countries, including countries in the European Union, China, Saudi Arabia, the US, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand.
There are 480,000 acres of fish and prawn breeding farms across the country. Myanmar earned over US$717 million from fishery exports in the last fiscal year.
—GNLM
(Translated by Ei Myat Mon)
