Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation is planning to increase quality of fishery exports to meet international standards

The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation is pushing the quality of fishery exports higher to make sure Myanmar’s fishery products meet international standards.

“We are committed to improve the fishery sector to ensure sustainability by following the standards and guidelines practiced globally,” said Dr. Aung Thu, Union Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, at the annual meeting of Myanmar Fishery Federation on May 12.

The Fishery Department works under the oversight of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation, and has drafted the National Aquaculture Development Plan (NADP). The plan was conceived in collaboration with Myanmar Sustainable Aquaculture Programme, the Myanmar Fishery Federation, universities and civil organizations.

Moreover, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation is also collaborating with a number of international organizations to conduct research on fishery resources at sea, to develop fishery conservation initiatives, and work on other projects.

Some of the organizations they are working with include the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), WorldFish, the EU, German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

Myanmar can now export both farm-raised and wild-caught fishery products to EU member countries. This move comes after a recent fishery import ban from Saudi Arabia, the ministry in Myanmar is trying to implement and maintain the standards from Good Aquaculture Practice (GAqP) in order to raise the standard and make sure that fishery exports from Myanmar meet all health and safety requirements.

Myanmar fishery export earns the country $500 million every year and has generated $297 million during the first four months this year. Meanwhile Thailand earns more than $3 billion every year in fishery products, and Vietnam the world’s third largest fish and seafood exporter earns $5.8 billion per year.

(Myanmar Business Today: https://www.mmbiztoday.com/articles/myanmar-increase-quality-fishery-exports )

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