January 3, 2006

Inadequate testing facilities limit Bangladeshi shrimp exports
 

Inadequate testing facilities are limiting Bangladeshi shrimp exports, although domestic shrimp producers are seeking to raise overall production from the current 125,000 tonnes to 250,000 tonnes annually.

This issue has become critical to exporters because European importers have threatened to reject any shipments of Bangladeshi shrimp without adequate testing.

A European Commission team had visited Bangladesh late last year, to observe various tests at government-run laboratories on quality control measures for shrimp and fish exports.

Exporters have recently urged the government to procure a type of machine that could detect all kinds of bacteria in shrimp and other frozen foods. They were also willing to provide financial support for the government to acquire the costly machine, if it is provided to the Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR). The Department of Fisheries does shrimp testing at BCSIR.