Qatar lifts ban on frozen seafood from India

New Delhi: Qatar has lifted its temporary ban on the import of frozen seafood from India, a move which would help increase exports of the product, the commerce ministry 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, it said.

The Department of Commerce along with the embassy of India in Qatar had since been making constant efforts to resolve the issue, it said.

A rally of discussions with Qatar's Ministry of Public Health had been taken, leading to the February 16 notification lifting the ban on frozen seafood. However, restrictions continue on the export of chilled seafood, it added.

"This week is proving to be very good for the seafood exporters in India, considering a similar lift in the suspension by China. We hope that the restrictions by Qatar on the chilled seafood will also be cleared soon after a reassessment of the situation," Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) Chairman D V Swami said.

On February 14, Beijing had lifted suspension of 99 Indian seafood-processing exporters after acknowledging India's assurance over source control.