More room to grow Bangladeshi shrimp exports

 

 

Bangladesh's shrimp exports still have potential to capture a major part of the European market and enter Japan by ensuring food safety, solving the problem of contamination, an expert from Thailand has said.

 

According to Thailand's Food Industry Club chairman Paiboon Ponsuwanna, Bangladesh must also maintain foods standards within the country besides paying attention to exports.

 

Ponsuwanna said the private sector must come forward faster than the government to ensure quality of shrimps for export.

 

Citing Thailand as the top Asian country in frozen foods export to the EU, ASEAN, USA and Japan, he said Bangladesh can also enter the Japanese market, a huge and profitable one, if it follows the example of Thailand.

 

Thailand in the last 15 years has made a significant development in food exports as it has been strictly maintaining global standards in production and processing, providing traceability, ensuring worker safety and undertaking corporate social responsibilities, said Paiboon, also the chairman of Thai National Shippers Council.

 

Bangladesh, meanwhile, has been under a self-imposed ban on export of shrimps to the EU, a decision taken on May 2009, after 54 rejections were made from late 2008 to early 2009 due to a 'Rapid Alert' notice, which circulates information on food safety problems among European nations. The alert came for contamination of frozen shrimps by nitrofuran, a toxic antibiotic.

 

The resumption of shrimp exports is still in limbo due to technicalities, however, though a meeting of the National Working Committee decided to lift the ban from December 7.

 

Bangladesh earned some US$534.07 million, 5% of the total exports, during 2007-08, which shrunk significantly in the last fiscal year due to the ban.

 

An EU delegation will visit Bangladesh next week to see the progress in ensuring contamination-free shrimp export.

 

Mohammed Samsul Kibria, joint secretary of the ministry of fisheries and livestock, in his keynote paper said the farms involved in shrimp processing should be brought under licensing system while the certification system must still be further strengthened.