Country’s export-oriented manufacturers are facing undue obstacles related to the standards and accreditation in the Indian market, alleged director general of the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution AK Fazlul Ahad on Sunday.
Referring to a recent views-exchange meeting between the BSTI officials and the representatives of the export-oriented manufacturers at the BSTI office, the DG said: “The experience of the manufacturers of the export products to the Indian market is not encouraging. The authorities at the entry points to India are not accepting products on our certification.”
He was addressing a seminar, titled ‘Accreditation: Facilitating World Trade’, marking the World Accreditation Day 2013.
The seminar was jointly organised by Bangladesh Accreditation Board (BAB) and Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) at the DCCI headquarters.
Ahad said BSTI has already got a number of accreditations from Indian authorities, including National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) and National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB), but the BSTI certified export products are still being stopped for further testing at the entry points in India.
“BSTI labs have been modernised, enhancing their international acceptability,” he said, “It’s also a violation of the WTO’s (World Trade Organisation) conformity principle – tested once, accepted everywhere.”
Source: UNBConnect
