April 20, 2007

Aquaculture company in China's Guangdong makes its first export to EU

Guangdong's Shunde made its first foray into the EU seafood market recently in a 20-tonne tilapia shipment worth US$56,000.

Shunde is a well-known fish farming region in China and was one of the four richest counties in China in the early 1990s. One-third of the city's products, mainly electronic household items, is exported to the US and EU.

Formerly, Shunde only export seafood products to Japan, the US, South Korea and ASEAN countries.

When the EU re-opened its market to China's aquaculture products in 2004, it imposed much stricter requirements than previously, according to Shunde's Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau.
 

The company making the shipment, Yangshi Aquaculture Co Ltd, had tailor-made its exports to meet EU food safety and hygiene requirements, with guidance from Shunde's Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau. The company was certified fit to export to the EU in July 2006 and has since gained a foothold in Holland's seafood market.