July 16, 2009

Bangladeshi government on Wednesday (July 15) launched a national action plan for the shrimp industry aimed to revive the struggling sector after a self-imposed ban on exports to the EU slashed foreign currency earnings.

 

Bangladeshi exporters suspended shrimp consignments to the EU for six months from May after almost 100 shipments, over a four-year period, were subject to a 'Rapid Alert' notice, which circulates information on food safety problems among European nations.

 

Between 2005 and June 2009, 60 consignments of frozen shrimp from Bangladesh were rejected by the EU due to contamination by nitrofuran, a banned antimicrobial agent.

 

The rising number of complaints led Bangladeshi exporters, in consultation with the government and industry representatives, to impose the export ban on freshwater prawns.

 

Fisheries and livestock minister Abdul Latif Biswas said stringent quality control at every level of production is vital to maintain demand as the market is very competitive.

 

The action plan follows demands voiced on Tuesday (July 14) by shrimp exporters for the installation of equipment in Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna to detect the presence of nitrofurans in frozen foods bound for export.

 

Mahmudul Karim, executive director of the private research and advocacy arm of the Bangladesh Shrimp and Fish Foundation, said that the shrimp industry already faces huge challenges from repeated natural calamities.

 

Karim said it was vital to buy laboratory equipment to clearly establish whether shrimp and prawns create nitrofurans naturally in their bodies, or if an outside contaminant was always involved.