Off the wire
• Special Report: Mutual interests key to China's "Belt and Road" initiative  • Spotlight: Serbia leads China-CEE cooperation on Belt and Road  • Urgent: Indian court sentences 11 to life in jail in 2002 communal riots of Gujarat  • New Zealand police arrest Romanians in credit card scam probe  • China, OPCW holds forum on international chemicals export control  • Spotlight: Killing of anti-Brexit lawmaker arouses global reaction, boosts "remain" campaign  • New Zealand military to join "Five Eyes" cyber attack exercise  • Man impaled on 1.5-meter steel bar in east China survives  • Chinese tourists spending up big in Australia: report  • Wreckage of missing CASA aircraft recovered in northern Vietnam  
You are here: 　 Home

EU lifts fish ban on Sri Lanka

Xinhua, June 17, 2016 Adjust font size:

COLOMBO, June 17 (Xinhua) - The European Union ban imposed on Sri Lankan fish exports has been lifted, the Sri Lankan Government Information Department said on Friday.

Director Government Information Dr. Ranga Kalanssoriya said that the ban has been lifted after a recent high-level discussion held to decide on the lifting of the EU fish ban imposed on Sri Lanka.

EU announced the ban in October 2014, due to Sri Lanka's failure to prevent local fishermen from violating international fisheries laws and human rights issues. Sri Lanka's seafood exports were severely hit and continued to decline since the ban took effect.

Sri Lanka is one of the largest exporters to the EU of high value fishery products such as swordfish and tuna.

According to the EU Commission, Sri Lanka exported 7,400 tones of fish worth 74 million euros (94 million U.S. dollars) in 2013 and over 5,000 tones of fisheries products earning 9,103 million Sri Lankan rupees (62.99 million dollars) in 2014 to the EU countries respectively. Enditem