US shrimp body dubs Indian seafood ''sub-standard''

 

 

The Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA), an association of eight southern US States engaged in warm water shrimp fishery, has alleged that the Indian seafood exports are sub-standard and sought the intervention of the US Food and Drug Administration to increase testing of Indian seafood imports.

 

The alliance has also demanded that an alert be issued on all shrimp imports from India.

 

SSA based its allegations on the ''reported'' dissatisfaction of the EU with the shrimp produced in India. They also point to the rapid growth in seafood exports to the EU in recent times and the rising number of rejections.

 

Acknowledging that there has been a rapid growth in exports to the EU, the Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI) has said that the number of EU rejections is quite nominal at less than two percent.

 

While pointing out that the EU has a long list of developed countries' products that also have invited rejection, the SEAI said that similar percentage of rejections would be normal rather than the exception in an industry that is handling extremely delicate and perishable commodity.

 

Going by the records, SEAI president Anwar Hashim said that the total number of rejections during 2009 would have been on approximately 60 consignments. With a good number of rejections being on small quantities over a variety of chilled seafood items, this would make up around 3,000 tonnes, while the exports to the EU during last fiscal was 1,51,590 tonnes.

 

And the rejections were also over a variety of causes including bulging of export cans, colour, hygiene and technical rejections such as discrepancies between the certificate of export and shipment number.

 

Regarding the presence of antibiotics such as chloramphenicols and nitrofurans in shrimp (scampi) exports, the SEAI pointed out that their number and volume in the export basket to the EU would be far lower.

 

Moreover, the country has banned the use of these antibiotics in aquaculture and adequate measures are being enforced to ensure its strict implementation. And shrimp (scampi) is the basis for most of these allegations.

 

Countering the allegations, the association said that there have been virtually no more rejections on scampi exports since September-October, when the testing guidelines were modified.

 

The Centre had submitted that the tests should be conducted on the edible meat of the exports and not on the external skin, shell or scales, which are not consumed. Once this contention was accepted by the EU and testing procedures modified, rejections on scampi exports have come down drastically, the exporters said.

 

Coming as it were at the initiation of the sunset review over anti-dumping duties on Indian shrimp exports to the US, some exporters are apprehensive over its impact on the entire review process.