Enhancing market access: Cape Town's workshop on EU fishery import requirements
Delegates, including 15 competent authorities from non-European countries such as South Africa, Angola, Namibia, and Cameroon, attend a Better Training for Safer Food (BTSF) workshop hosted by the European Commission Training Academy at the Cape Town Lodge.
Image: Fouzia van der Fort
South Africa, in collaboration with the European Union Commission, is currently hosting a high-level training workshop in Cape Town this week to enhance market access for fishery products from non-EU countries.
The workshop at a Cape Town lodge runs from Monday, February 2, until Friday, February 6. It brings together competent authorities from 15 non-European nations, including South Africa, Angola, Namibia, Mozambique, and Seychelles.
The initiative hosted by the South African Departments of Agriculture (DoA), Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE), and the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS), is fully funded by the European Commission’s director-general for health and food safety (DG SANTE) under its Better Training for Safer Food (BTSF) programme.
The training is also extended to South African stakeholders approved to export fish and fishery products to the European markets.
Dr Graham Wood, the EU Commission's team leader for fishery products, said the primary goal of the workshop was to promote and strengthen relations, improve mutual understanding, and enhance market access in the field of food safety, plant health, animal health, and general bilateral trade matters concerning EU import requirements on fishery products.
"The workshop aims to create a deeper understanding of EU requirements in alignment with international standards like Codex Alimentarius, fostering fair practices and a common playing field for international trade in fish and fishery products," he said.
National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) chief operating officer, Thomas Madzivhe, said: "Extending the training to local stakeholders is expected to enhance their understanding of EU import requirements and control mechanisms, which will support improved compliance and potentially increase market access for South African products."
Deputy director for meat safety risk management, for the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Dr Khomotso Patrick Matsemela, said that they would like to strengthen official control systems for fishing vessels and aquaculture farms, with a detailed focus on marine aquaculture food safety, including monitoring biotoxins and residues
"Utilising traceability and certification tools, such as the catch certificate system, to ensure legality; aligning operations with the EU’s sustainable Farm to Fork practices," he said.
South African stakeholders, who are registered and approved by the EU to export fish and fishery products to the European markets, will also attend this training workshop.
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