December 13, 2006

Guangdong's Maoming gains clearance to export shrimps to EU

Guangdong's Maoming City exported its first batch of shrimps to Europe last week.

The 24-tonne shipment, worth a total of US$150,000 was cleared for export after receiving approval from the Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau.

Maoming city is located in the south-central area of Guangdong. Its sub-tropical and mild climate with abundant sunshine makes it very suitable for the production of aqua-products.

To date, Maoming has produced 840,000 tonnes of aquaculture products every year, valued at RMB 4.1 billion. Of these, seafood made up 600,000 tonnes while fresh water-products reached 240,000 tonnes.

Maoming is becoming a processing base for chilled food, dried products, fishmeal, canned seafood and other aquatic products. Each year, more than 100,000 tonnes of seafood are processed in the city before being exported abroad.

Seafood requirements for the EU are among the strictest in the world. The city currently only has one exporter licensed for seafood export to the EU.