August 6, 2003

US Shrimp Farmers May File Anti-Dumping Lawsuit In Sep Or Oct

The Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA), a coalition of eight southern and eastern seaboard states in the U.S. may file an anti-dumping lawsuit against foreign shrimp exporters in Sep or Oct, said Vietnam's Deputy Fisheries Minister Nguyen Thi Hong Minh who was speaking at a conference of shrimp exporters in HCMC on Saturday.

Shrimp exporters from 16 countries are expected to face the possible lawsuit. In particular, exporters from seven countries, including Vietnam, are being targeted.

Minh, who is also chairwoman of Vasep (Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters) told exporters to prevent a lawsuit by any means and that local shrimp exporters should contact SSA to have discussions first.

Vasep's secretary general Nguyen Huu Dung said the association has earmarked a US$55,000 budget to help the American Seafood Distributors' Association (ASDA) lobby to ward off any lawsuit.

Shrimp farmers in the U.S. can meet only 12% of the domestic demand. In 2002, the value of U.S. shrimp imports reached US$3.42 billion and the top two shrimp exporting countries were Thailand and Vietnam.

Statistics from Vietnam's Ministry of Fisheries showed that in 2002, 74 seafood processors shipped US$466.8 million worth of frozen shrimp to the U. S., accounting for nearly half of Vietnam's total seafood exports.