Both the United States and Guyanese counterparts are currently in dialogue to put an end to the catfish ban which was imposed since 2017 under the former APNU/AFC administration.
Outgoing United States Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah Ann Lynch appeared on the Jumpstart radio programme with Gordon Moseley on Tuesday morning, where she zeroed in on the gains made during her tenure.
Between the visits of two Secretaries of State, that is, Mike Pompeo in September 2020 and Antony Blinken earlier this year, Lynch shared that nothing fell through the cracks. This included the catfish ban, which is still under review.
The US Embassy has put the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) under the Department of Agriculture and the Guyanese counterpart into dialogue to get the paperwork across the finish line, the diplomat outlined.
“Whatever was discussed during Secretary Pompeo’s time, we did build on those. Some are still in process, like the catfish agreement. That is still under review with the US Department of Agriculture, specifically the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)…So, nothing fell through the cracks. We are very proud of that.”
Ambassador Lynch added, “But these things take some time.”
It was reported earlier this year that Guyana was awaiting a response from the US government, having followed various stipulated requirements to lift the exportation ban on catfish.
During his visit in September 2020, former US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo had committed his government to reviewing the ban on catfish which was imposed early 2017 under the David Granger-led administration. The wild-caught catfish has been in great demand in the Guyanese diaspora.
“We’ll work with you. We’ll put it through the US regulatory process and the WTO (World Trade Organisation) review process, and I’m confident we can get a good outcome,” Secretary Pompeo was quoted as saying during his visit.
According to the regulations, Guyana must be able to catch catfish and transport it to a processing plant while it is alive. This is in contradiction to what is being practised here, whereby the fish is caught, disemboweled and the carcass is iced until it reaches the shore.
Exporters of catfish were required to provide documentation to verify that their inspection system was equivalent to US standards. The failure to do this resulted in the United States imposing a ban on catfish imports from Guyana and other non-compliant countries.
Guyana is also required to have inspectors on plants along with documentation of sanitation and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) process. It also needs to provide information on how adulterated catfish products are managed.
Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha had lamented that the local fishing industry has severely been affected by the ban hence it was a priority of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration to address this issue. He had noted that the $1.8 billion industry had ‘suffered’ a lot.
