Indonesian shrimp exporters found to illegally re-export Chinese shrimps

According to European Commission's Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) investigation reports, seven Indonesian shrimp exporters had misused the Certificate of Origin (COO) document to re-export Chinese shrimp to Europe.

China's shrimps have been banned in Europe since 2001, after the EU declared that Chinese seafood contained antibiotics.

OLAF also reportedly found that almost one third of Indonesia's shrimp exports to Europe in 2003 and 2004 actually originated from China.

The Indonesian government reported that the seven firms had re-exported about 20,849 tonnes and 21,685 tonnes of shrimps in 2003 and 2004 respectively.

The EU has been one of Indonesia's major shrimp markets.

Indonesia's top aquatic export is shrimp, with total value last year reaching US$806.86 million compared with US$819.14 million in 2003.