Qatar lifts ban on frozen seafood from India

Qatar has lifted its temporary ban on the import of frozen seafood from India, paving the way for enhanced exports to the Gulf nation, officials said on Friday. The ban was imposed in November last year, just ahead of the FIFA World Cup following alleged detection of Vibrio cholera from a few consignments from India. The Qatari authorities had informed India that the ban was temporary and owing to lack of sufficient testing laboratories in their country in the run-up to the football event. The Union Department of Commerce, along with the Indian Embassy in Qatar had since been making constant efforts to resolve the issue. Several rounds of discussion with Qatar’s Ministry of Public Health had been held, leading to the February 16 notification lifting the ban. This week is proving to be very good for the seafood exporters in India, considering a similar lift in the suspension by China,” Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) Chairman D.V. Swamy said. On February 14, Beijing lifted suspension of 99 Indian seafood-processing exporters after acknowledging India’s assurance over source control. The MPEDA, along with other agencies, had played a crucial role in getting lifting Beijing’s suspension of a total of 110 units since December 2020.