New EU testing rule hits shrimp exporters hard
Saturday, 10 July 2010
Monira Munni
Bangladeshi shrimp consignments worth Tk 2.0 billion have remained stranded at different ports after European Union pressed for a new testing requirement on health ground.
European Union, the 27-nation grouping, has recently set a criteria saying it will not allow entry of shrimps and fishes containing crystal violet (one kind of dye) more than 0.5 parts per billion (PPB).
The new rule is expected to deal a big blow to Bangladesh's shrimp exports to the EU as the country's shrimp consignments are carrying certificate of crystal violet limit at 2.0 PPB, exporters said.
They said the new requirement on shrimps' health certificate has blocked entry of shipment to the EU, which account for more than 50 per cent of Bangladesh's shrimp export.
Officials said due to imposition of new criteria hundreds of Bangladeshi shrimp consignments worth millions of taka have remained stranded at different ports of the world.
Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters Association (BFFEA) has recently sought government assistance to resolve the problem immediately as they fear high demurrage and additional cost if further examination of the item in EU countries is needed.
Bangladesh ships around half a billion dollars worth of shrimp every year, making it the country's third largest export item. The industry employs more than a million people mainly in the country's impoverished southwestern coastal districts.
BFFEA vice president Kazi Shahnewaz on July 4 in a letter intimated the Ministry of Fisheries about the matter.
"The EU has unjustly imposed it (the condition) on us. We are issuing certificates on emergency basis to solve the problem," a senior official of Ministry of Fisheries told the FE Thursday.
The official said the government is looking for an international lobby to work in this regard with the assistance of EU importers' alliance.
"A team jointly formed by Ministry of Fisheries and Ministry of Commerce will go to the EU very soon to hold discussion on the issue," he said adding that they are also taking measures to upgrade the laboratory testing facilities.
Mosleh Uddin Ahmed, deputy director of Fish Inspection and Quality Control Khulna region, said: "We will start issuing certificates on the new standard very soon."
"We hope the EU will consider the shipments and our exporters will not face any unexpected danger," he said.
Musa Miah, president of BFFEA, said: "It is a big setback for our shrimp industry. The sector will face further blow in future if the government fails to take immediate steps."
The EU had earlier tested shrimp consignment from Bangladesh at random, a standard being followed all over the world. Most other fish exporting nations including Vietnam and Thailand also undergo similar testing procedure.
Exporters said the EU decision follows inspection of Bangladeshi shrimp production and processing standards by a team of its Food and Veterinary Office in January this year.
The team visited the country's fish and animal feed and hatchery projects for nearly two weeks and expressed its dissatisfaction over quality control in the farms and reliability of laboratory test report.
The country also fared badly in the authorities' monitoring of food and supplements used by producers and poor hygiene standards of its workforce and drug issues.
In June 2009, Bangladesh had voluntarily banned export of fresh water prawn, one of 12 species of shrimps farmed in the country, after cancer-causing antibiotic, Nitrofuran, had been found in more than 50 EU-bound consignments.
Although exports of the particular species have resumed in January this year, the Nitrofuran issue shed some negative light on the overall health and hygiene standards practiced in the country's shrimp industry.
"I think, the harsh new testing measure is a penalty we are paying due to the detection of Nitrofuran in our earlier consignments," an exporter said.
"We had informed the government that any deviation from the standards could lead to a bad report by the team and a possible ban on Bangladeshi shrimp in the EU countries," he said.
"Our exports will be unduly delayed due to the tough testing measures. The EU importers will also punish us by offering cheaper rates and all the incoming consignments will be blocked at ports causing high cost and demurrage charge for us," he said.
Bangladeshi shrimp consignments worth Tk 2.0 billion have remained stranded at different ports after European Union pressed for a new testing requirement on health ground.
European Union, the 27-nation grouping, has recently set a criteria saying it will not allow entry of shrimps and fishes containing crystal violet (one kind of dye) more than 0.5 parts per billion (PPB).
The new rule is expected to deal a big blow to Bangladesh's shrimp exports to the EU as the country's shrimp consignments are carrying certificate of crystal violet limit at 2.0 PPB, exporters said.
They said the new requirement on shrimps' health certificate has blocked entry of shipment to the EU, which account for more than 50 per cent of Bangladesh's shrimp export.
Officials said due to imposition of new criteria hundreds of Bangladeshi shrimp consignments worth millions of taka have remained stranded at different ports of the world.
Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters Association (BFFEA) has recently sought government assistance to resolve the problem immediately as they fear high demurrage and additional cost if further examination of the item in EU countries is needed.
Bangladesh ships around half a billion dollars worth of shrimp every year, making it the country's third largest export item. The industry employs more than a million people mainly in the country's impoverished southwestern coastal districts.
BFFEA vice president Kazi Shahnewaz on July 4 in a letter intimated the Ministry of Fisheries about the matter.
"The EU has unjustly imposed it (the condition) on us. We are issuing certificates on emergency basis to solve the problem," a senior official of Ministry of Fisheries told the FE Thursday.
The official said the government is looking for an international lobby to work in this regard with the assistance of EU importers' alliance.
"A team jointly formed by Ministry of Fisheries and Ministry of Commerce will go to the EU very soon to hold discussion on the issue," he said adding that they are also taking measures to upgrade the laboratory testing facilities.
Mosleh Uddin Ahmed, deputy director of Fish Inspection and Quality Control Khulna region, said: "We will start issuing certificates on the new standard very soon."
"We hope the EU will consider the shipments and our exporters will not face any unexpected danger," he said.
Musa Miah, president of BFFEA, said: "It is a big setback for our shrimp industry. The sector will face further blow in future if the government fails to take immediate steps."
The EU had earlier tested shrimp consignment from Bangladesh at random, a standard being followed all over the world. Most other fish exporting nations including Vietnam and Thailand also undergo similar testing procedure.
Exporters said the EU decision follows inspection of Bangladeshi shrimp production and processing standards by a team of its Food and Veterinary Office in January this year.
The team visited the country's fish and animal feed and hatchery projects for nearly two weeks and expressed its dissatisfaction over quality control in the farms and reliability of laboratory test report.
The country also fared badly in the authorities' monitoring of food and supplements used by producers and poor hygiene standards of its workforce and drug issues.
In June 2009, Bangladesh had voluntarily banned export of fresh water prawn, one of 12 species of shrimps farmed in the country, after cancer-causing antibiotic, Nitrofuran, had been found in more than 50 EU-bound consignments.
Although exports of the particular species have resumed in January this year, the Nitrofuran issue shed some negative light on the overall health and hygiene standards practiced in the country's shrimp industry.
"I think, the harsh new testing measure is a penalty we are paying due to the detection of Nitrofuran in our earlier consignments," an exporter said.
"We had informed the government that any deviation from the standards could lead to a bad report by the team and a possible ban on Bangladeshi shrimp in the EU countries," he said.
"Our exports will be unduly delayed due to the tough testing measures. The EU importers will also punish us by offering cheaper rates and all the incoming consignments will be blocked at ports causing high cost and demurrage charge for us," he said.