The Brazilian Supreme Court has accepted an injunction filed by the Brazilian Shrimp Producer Association (ABCC) to suspend authorization of Ecuadorian shrimp into Brazil’s domestic market.
In a statement, the ABCC welcomed the decision, which reversed a process just a year after officials from the two nations agreed to allow Ecuadorian shrimp into the Brazilian market following a 20-year ban.
According to a report in Ecuadorian news outlet El Telegrafo, Ecuador was considered capable of covering 50 percent of the supply deficit in Brazil, which is estimated at 45,000 tons of the species annually. The Supreme Court ruling is temporary, and according to a statement from the court, conditions the entry of Ecuadorian shrimp on an Agricultural Ministry study on the risks of importing the product. The opposition to the entry of the shrimp was also supported by the regional government of Maranhao, one of the important regions for shrimp production in the Northeast of Brazil.
The entry of Ecuadorian shrimp has been highly controversial, and this is not the first court ruling to affect its supply in Brazil. In July 2017 a federal judge had blocked the entry, but that was overturned by a higher court in October, bringing the matter to the high court.
The parties opposed to Ecuadorian shrimp imports, led by the ABCC, have alleged its entry could provoke “unrepairable environmental damage in Brazilian territory and threats to the population and economic order,” according to the press report. The detractors argue that there are diseases present in Ecuador’s production which are not found in Brazil, and the import could lead to their spread.
Ecuadorian officials have argued that the Brazilian industry is incapable of covering the national demand, which has been affected by white spot syndrome, a virus affecting shrimp that is highly lethal and contagious.
Photo courtesy of The Business Year
