Vijai's man Friday in expert panel on exports strategy

WHO IS MAULANA IBRAHIM?
>> He is the president of the Sea Food Exporters Association of India (Goa Region) and operates his export unit from the Cuncolim industrial estate
>> Was caught in the vortex of the raging controversy in July when FDA spot tests at the Margao wholesale market found fish samples contaminated with the toxic formalin
----------------------------------------------------------
JOB OF THE COMMITTEE
>> The panel is expected to deliberate on and offer suggestions to harness Geographical Indicator (GI) based products which have export potential
>> It will also prepare a plan to build an eco-system to promote exports, provide linkages between exports, manufacturing investment, ease of doing business and skilling
------------------------------------------------------

PANAJI: Embers of the raging formalin-in-fish row may not have faded yet but it has not deterred the State government from appointing the controversial fish wholesaler Moulana Ibrahim, who was trapped in the controversy's vortex, to a key panel to advise it on framing a general exports strategy for Goa.
The state government set up the nine-member committee on August 28 to advise it in formulating a State-level Export Strategy. Besides Ibrahim, the panel includes several other corporate honchos and two top State government bureaucrats - the Industries Secretary and the Director of Industries, Trade and Commerce.
Ibrahim, was caught in the vortex of the raging controversy which erupted in July when FDA spot tests at the Margao wholesale market found fish samples contaminated with the toxic formalin.
The FDA did a quick flip-flop the same day and declared that detailed tests at its laboratory had found the formalin levels to be "within permissible limits", allegedly after questions were raised over the spot tests by Ibrahim, said to be close to Goa Forward Party supremo and TCP Minister, Vijai Sardessai.
Ibrahim's appointment on the panel to devise an export strategy, however, is prompted by his "expertise" in the field of marine exports, a top government official told The Goan.
He is the president of the Sea Food Exporters Association of India (Goa Region) and operates his export unit from the Cuncolim industrial estate, the official said, adding that his unit is the largest exporter of marine products from Goa.
Besides Ibrahim, the other non-government members of the panel are: Shrikant B Parulekar, a concrete products manufacturer, Surendra Kamath, Jaideep Redkar, a top-level executive of Rosenberger Electronic Co. (India) Pvt Ltd, Raj Amonkar, an associate professor at Goa Institute of Management, Sanquelim, Rajshankar Ray, the CEO of IFB Industries Ltd and Nitin Kunkolienkar.
The order constituting the committee was issued by the Under Secretary (Industries) A S Mahatme on August 28 and it tasks the panel with the responsibility to devise strategies to boost exports from Goa.
The panel is expected to deliberate on and offer suggestions to harness Geographical Indicator (GI) based products which have export potential.
It will also prepare a plan to build an eco-system to promote exports, provide linkages between exports, manufacturing investment, ease of doing business and skilling.
Another specific term of reference for the panel is to identify and address logistics and infrastructure gaps which affect exports and also to provide start-ups and small units access to the export markets.
'Champion sectors' such as those with high global demand, sectors that currently contribute a big share of the exports from Goa and those that are highly competitive in the local markets are also to be identified by the panel.
The experts panel will also work in areas such as promoting standards, certification and traceback, export logistics, services export and organic cultivation and certification.
Another key term of reference of the panel is to identify export sectors which can generate more jobs, including service sectors.