Kuwait’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry has temporarily suspended imports of processed live, frozen shrimp, and other crustaceans from Vietnam due to viral diseases.
The ban was issued on 17 May as white spot disease and acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease are spotted on the shrimp products from the Southeast Asian nation, Vietnam’s Export and Import Department said in a 7 June letter sent to other relevant government agencies. The letter was based on a previous notification on the issue from Vietnam’s Embassy in Kuwait.
It is highly likely that the Kuwait side made the decision by taking reference from a similar action by Saudi Arabia in January and following consultations with the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Vietnamese embassy noted. But it is also possible that the diseases were actually present on the products shipped to Kuwait.
The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) had in January suspended imports of fish, crustaceans, and other products of aquatic animal origin from Vietnam due to the presence of two diseases in the Southeast Asian nation.
The ban was based on the World Organization for Animal Health’s "Quarterly Aquatic Animal Disease Report (Asia-Pacific Region) April - June 2017", which shows that white spot disease and acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease are present in Vietnam, SFDA said in a notification of emergency measures on 30 January.
Vietnam is the ninth-largest seafood supplier for Kuwait, exporting seafood products worth up to USD 12 million (EUR 10.3 million) per year, with shrimp accounting for up to USD 3.2 million (EUR 2.7 million) per year.
Vietnam exported seafood products worth more than USD 8.3 billion (EUR 7.1 billion) last year and Kuwait accounted for just a small part of its overall overseas sales. But the reputation of Vietnam’s seafood industry in the world will be hurt if other countries in the region follow the Kuwait’s move, the Vietnam’s Export and Import Department said, adding that it does not exclude a possibility that the Kuwait side will suspend all seafood products from Vietnam in the future.
Photo courtesy of GulfJI.com
