The European Union, one of the main export markets for Antigua and Barbuda
lobsters, is currently conducting an audit of the fishing sector of the country.
According to Chief Fisheries Officer, Ian Horsford, the audit started in November
2023 and it is still ongoing. Antigua and Barbuda successfully completed six such
audits in the past.
Horsford sits in the National Trade Council and this week he told the council of the
challenges his department faces in exporting fish and fish projects to markets such
as the EU and the United States.
“Under EU regulations, in terms of food safety, they are looking at whether or not
Antigua and Barbuda continues to meet the requirements for exporting fisheries
products to the EU. They are therefore looking at the competency of our staff, the
processes we use to ensure that the food is safe to enter their markets as well as to
ensure that the products that reach the EU are legal,” he explained.
According to Horsford it is critical that Antigua and Barbuda ‘passes’ this latest
audit as a ‘failure’ would mean a total ban on exports of fish products to the EU.
He said the EU market remains an important market for fisheries products from
Antigua and Barbuda although the dollar-value for the products exported has
declined significantly.
“In the past, our total value for the lobsters and fish that we exported to the EU was
around $10 million. That is down to roughly EC$3 million today. The main reason
for the decline is that we no longer are able to export fish. Our exports have now
been confined to live lobsters only,” he further explained.
Horsford added that the EU is considered ‘the gold standard’ when it comes to
food safety and getting a certificate from the EU means you can also export to third
party countries that are not part of the bloc. “For example, when we were able to
access mainland China, a lot of this hinged on our ability to export into the EU,” he
revealed.
Currently, he noted, only two OECS countries have access to the EU market.
These are Antigua and Barbuda and Grenada.
According to Horsford some of the things that Antigua and Barbuda take for
granted, such as running water at the facility from which the products are exported,
are critical to the EU and American inspectors.
Horsford added that entering the US market for fisheries products also poses a
different set of challenges.
