The US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service is currently reviewing the latest submissions by Guyana in response to its application for the US to lift the ban on the importation of catfish from Guyana.
On Monday, US Ambassador Nicole Theriot said the submission of additional documents to the US Department of Agriculture was made within the last month, in response to a series of questions posed by the US authorities.
“The Government of Guyana has responded quite comprehensively to the latest round of questions that we have. You know, obviously, the whole point of the current ban is simply to make sure that everything that comes into the United States is safe for consuming. It is all about safety and phytosanitary,” Ambassador Theriot said.
In 2017, Guyana was among a number of countries that were banned from exporting catfish to the US over safety concerns. Since then, it has been an uphill task to get the ban lifted.
Ambassador Theriot said once the review is completed, the US Department of Agriculture will indicate whether it requires additional information or documentation, or whether the ban would be lifted.
“So, the department of agriculture is currently reviewing all of those responses and then, once they have done that, they will either ask additional questions or they will choose to lift the ban,” she explained.
The current Administration has been anxiously awaiting a decision from the US authorities on the eight-year ban.
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