Delay in food import rules

Govt issues new labelling requirements to allow a product to be sold in the Pakistani market

Entities dealing with fast-moving consumer goods have found some respite from the drastic changes in regulation experienced in February when the government issued new labelling requirements to allow a product to be sold in the Pakistani market. Caving in to pressure from corporations, traders and importers, implementation of the new regulations has been put off until July 2019. While the logistics of the new rules require time, this is no positive news for consumers as the rules were established with their best interest in mind.

The motivating factor for changing regulations was weak import laws that allowed substandard foods to enter the country. Previously, there was no strictness on labelling. Expiry dates could be near and even non-halal foods could enter Muslim-majority Pakistan. As an overall consumer nation, we do not follow the critical practice of reading nutrition or ingredient labels, owing to a sizeable population that is illiterate or the small proportion of the population that can easily afford pricey imported goods without reading the price or other labels. Therefore, it is laudable on the Pakistani government’s part to implement these rules in view of human health and safety.

Little can be said about the actions of our government without criticism, where it is deserved. The requirement of labelling foods in English and Urdu is rather extensive. It will be interesting to see how many global exporters will comply with Urdu labels, given that only a small percentage can regularly afford the imported products. Finally, in the push for regulating imported goods, the authorities are blatantly ignoring home-grown problems. It is plausible that some local products are less fit for human consumption than imported products. While the concern with a Halal label is legitimate, the government should go beyond and implement rules for local food manufacturers, some of whom have been suspicious in the past.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2019.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.