Sri Lanka’s exporters will soon be able to have their food exports to India tested and approved locally prior to shipping, saving both costs and expenses incurred by delays and rejections at Indian ports. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is scheduled to be signed between Indian and Sri Lankan authorities for this purpose next month, according to the Export Development Board (EDB). Under this MoU, Sri Lanka’s food laboratories will be accredited by India and its results will therefore be accepted by the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI). Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, an EDB official noted that the MoU is all set to be signed between the Food Control Unit of the Ministry of Health and the FSSAI, despite the upcoming presidential election. “This year, the delay was due to the laboratories in Sri Lanka undertaking required preparatory works, and changes in the FSSAI management delayed India’s side,” the source noted. The MoU was discussed as part of the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) which was set to be signed in November last year. However, currently, the ETCA negotiations have been put on the backburner amidst a looming election due to its politically sensitive nature. Fortunately for Sri Lanka’s exporters, the MoU with FSSAI would still be signed as planned as it would not be a part of ETCA nor be dependent upon its signing. The Food Control Unit is the responsible organisation for the FSSAI-accredited labs in Sri Lanka. Currently, there are several barriers for Sri Lankan food exports at India’s Port of Entries. India has traditionally not recognised the certificates issued for processed food items by Sri Lankan laboratories. Therefore, upon a request made by Sri Lanka, FSSAI last year identified three labs. The three labs which have been set up to test Sri Lankan processed food exports to India are the state-owned Industrial Technology Institute (ITI) and two international labs – namely SGS Lanka Ltd. and Bureau Veritas. These labs are situated in Colombo, Malabe, and Moratuwa. The identified laboratories have uploaded all their testing methods to the FSSAI website in India, which has led to receiving accreditation from India. Upon the MoU signing, these labs will check and issue test reports confirming that processed foods of Sri Lanka meet Indian food safety standards, so that food consignments will not be rejected at the Indian checkpoints. The EDB expects a rise in Sri Lanka’s food exports to India following the implementation of this agreement. Though India is the third biggest export destination for Sri Lanka, agencies at the India Port of Entry have either been rejecting Sri Lankan food consignments or putting them through retests in India, which result in procedural and clearance delays and additional costs for local exporters. Complying with India’s food standards has been a major challenge for local food and beverage exporters. Such non-tariff barriers are particularly burdensome and discouraging for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) because of their fixed costs. Having identified this issue, EDB initiated discussions with FSSAI. As a result, a delegation headed by FSSAI CEO Pawan Kumar Agarwal visited Sri Lanka for a stakeholder consultation workshop in May 2018. They agreed to consider a few Sri Lankan conformity assessment laboratories to test Indian standards. It should be highlighted that, at that point, FSSAI had not registered any laboratory outside India with them. Continuing the progress, the Sanitary and Phytosanitary/Technical Barriers to Trade (SPS/TBT) Committee, established by the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade for ETCA negotiations, identified five conformity assessment labs to recommend to FSSAI for registration, namely the laboratories at Registrar of Pesticides (ROP), Industrial Technology Institute (ITI), Tea Board, SGS Lanka Ltd. and Bureau Veritas. An audit team from FSSAI arrived in Sri Lanka last year to audit these five Sri Lankan laboratories comprising three government labs and two private sector labs. Following the audit, FSSAI recognised the aforementioned three labs to test processed food exports to India. According to the source, no additional costs have been incurred by the Government to have these labs recognised by India. EDB to take part in SIAL India 2019 The Export Development Board will be organising a National Pavilion at the world's largest food innovation exhibition, SIAL, which is scheduled to be held in New Delhi, India from 19-21 September 2019. SIAL, one of the key players in the network of food innovation has identified India as the next Eldorado for the agrifood sector. Since its inception, SIAL has been taking place in Paris, China, Jakarta, Abu Dhabi, Canada, and India. The fair organisers expect more than 300 exhibitors from 15 participating countries and 8,000 visitors for the second edition of SIAL India. The EDB has been participating in SIAL exhibitions and organised a national pavilion in the country pavilion section at SIAL 2018, which was held in Paris, France. SIAL India 2019 will comprise SIAL innovation – a unique celebration of innovative food and beverage products, Alternative Food Forum – discover the future of the food industries and seize new opportunities, SIAL conference – food market trends presented by industry leaders and experts, La Cuisine – an area where the best chefs perform live culinary demonstrations, and Drinks Theatre – dedicated to wineand& spirit makers and retailers.