May 2, 2007

Iran worries about shrimp exports after bans and returned shipments

Iranian shrimp producers are now worrying that stricter requirements for exported shrimp would wipe out its seafood export market.

Iran earned US$44 million from seafood exports of 25,759 tonnes last year.

However, more than 976 tonnes of shrimp exported were sent back in the year to March 2007, Iran Daily reported. The EU recently sent back 6,000 tonnes of Iranian shrimp due to improper documentation.

New head of State Veterinary Organization has warned on Monday that the country may be unable to export shrimp in the year to March 2009.

Mojtaba Norouzi admitted that the future of shrimp exports looked grim.

Iran may not be able to export any shrimps at all next year, Norouzi said, adding that the government would have to spend huge amounts protecting producers. If authorities could have upgraded facilities earlier, producers could now have been able to reap its benefits, he added.

Norouzi said regaining the former status in the global shrimp market would be difficult but not impossible.

Iran has sent results of laboratory tests on its shrimp to Europe to prove that its shrimps were not afflicted with disease, he noted.