Pakistan Single Window (PSW) in collaboration with the Ministry of Maritime Affairs has successfully integrated the Marine Fisheries Department (MFD) and Mercantile Marine Department (MMD) into its network of digitally connected entities.
MFD regulates the export of fish and fishery products in Pakistan while MMD is responsible for regulating the export of second-hand/used passenger and cargo ships, oil tankers, liquid cargo carriers, and fishing trawlers. Further, MMD also ensures stowage standards in the export of Dangerous Goods.
The internal working of both the departments was manual and paper-based, which is prone to fraud and forgery besides being time-consuming.
It is pertinent to mention here that seafood is Pakistan’s fifth most-valuable export commodity. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, Pakistan exported 196,785 MT of seafood to different countries valuing $456 million during the period of July-May of the current financial year, showing 17% growth in export receipts.
Supply chain reliability, safety, and efficiency are key to attracting foreign buyers to a country’s products and enhanced exports. Exports of Fish and fishery products play a vital role in the national economy of Pakistan and have the potential to earn millions in foreign exchange. Digitization of the cross-border trade-related procedures is one significant step towards improving the supply chain efficiency and safety.
Speaking about the initiative, the CEO of PSW said, “Integration of the Marine Fisheries and the Marine Mercantile Department with PSW is in our recognition of the importance of this sector for facilitation and enhancement of Pakistan’s cross-border trade, particularly exports. We hope that the integration will not only reduce the time and cost of doing cross-border trade but will help modernize and reform the two departments in line with the Ministry’s vision. We are grateful for the Ministry’s active participation and interest in integrating with the PSW”.
The integration of these two departments under the Ministry of Maritime Affairs will be followed by the phased implementation of the Port Community System which PSW has designed in consultation with all the maritime stakeholders including the Ministry with the help of international experts.
The integration of MMD and MFD in the Single Window environment contains including fully harmonized and user-friendly interfaces available to importers, exporters, and the processing staff of the departments in line with already integrated regulatory departments.
It also contains a standardized data set to be provided by importers/exporters only once for consumption of Customs and all regulatory departments. Any relevant data already provided to authorities should be made available and not be required again.
