Sri Lanka's seafood exports continue to take a hit from EU ban

SOURCE: COLOMBO PAGE 

Continuing the decline since the European Union announced the ban on the imports of seafood products from the island nation, Sri Lanka's seafood exports declined over 35 percent in 2015. Seafood exports which dropped continuously from October 2014, recorded a further decline of 31.2 percent in December 2015 with exports only at US$ 15 million , compared to the US$ 21.8 million earned in the corresponding month in 2014 , the Central Bank said in its External Sector Performance report for December 2015. In cumulative terms in the year 2015, seafood exports declined 35.5 percent to US$ 163.1 million compared to US$ 252.7 million earned in 2014. Sri Lanka is facing a ban on its fish exports to European Union from mid-January 2015 due to Sri Lanka's failure to demonstrate that it sufficiently addressed illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The ban on seafood imports from Sri Lanka to the EU market went into effect from 14 January 2015. Before the ban Sri Lanka's fish exports to the European Union made up 68 percent of its total fish exports, which brings in Rs. 23 billion (US$ 160 million) annually. The remaining 32 percent is sent to the United States, Japan and other non-EU countries. Sri Lanka was the second biggest exporter of fresh and chilled swordfish and tuna