Compliance on HACCP and export penetration: An empirical analysis of the seafood processing firms in Sri Lanka

Seafood exporting enterprises have to produce to the requirements of their international markets and demonstrate acceptable conformity to food safety regulations. The basic purpose of this study was to investigate the present status of food safety programmes (HACCP) in seafood business in Sri Lanka and determine the food safety practices and procedures related to the HACCP. The principle focus was to find out the impact of HACCP, level of sanitation, labor, capital and traceability on export penetration of the seafood export business in Sri Lanka. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the primary data from purposely selected seafood processing establishments in Sri Lanka (n=50). An analysis showed that 72% of the export penetration was described by the selected dependent variables. Moreover, findings highlighted that the level of HACCP observance, labor, capital, sanitation (SANI 1) and traceability have positive correlation with export penetration while poor sanitation (SANI 2) has a negative impact on export penetration. Key words: seafood; exports of Sri Lanka; HACCP; compliance DOI: 10.4038/suslj.v8i1.1851 Sabaramuwa University Journal Vol. 8(1); December 2008, pp 61-77