Vietnamese shrimp exporters have had 56 shipments to Japan rejected because of excessive levels of the bactericidal agent enrofloxacin, according to the Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Vietnam had to re-import the shipments.
Similarly, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency placed six Vietnamese seafood exporters on its Mandatory Inspection List between October and December of 2011 for fluoroquinolone (enrofloxacin) violations, this time involving catfish.?Exporters whose shipments are repeatedly rejected can have their export licenses revoked. But despite their efforts at testing, they have not been successful at eliminating enrofloxacin residues, as it is legal for farmers to use. The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP) is urging the General Seafood Department to consider prohibiting the use of enrofloxacin in shrimp feeding.
The Southern Shrimp Alliance, a Tarpon Springs, Fla.-based industry organization, has called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to increase its vigilance toward Vietnamese shrimp, noting that while Japan and Canada detected many such cases, there was no corresponding increase in the United States, even though some of the suppliers are the same.
Meanwhile, Japanese companies using Indian 100- to 200-count wild white and pink shrimp in processed foods such as cup ramen and frozen pilaf are bearing record costs of USD 7 per kilogram. Both labor and material costs are rising. Low-wage shrimp peeling operations must compete for workers with recently established auto assembly plants, while wild shrimp stocks are declining due to loss of coral reefs.
The volume of Indian shrimp exports grew less than 3 percent last year, but the value increased by one-quarter, due to a higher-value share for large farmed vannamei, in which India is now specializing. Indian vannamei are fetching USD 5.50 to USD 7.25 per kilogram for head-on shrimp, according to the Seafood Exporters Association of India. Year-on-year, there has been an 18 percent depreciation in the value of the rupee against the dollar, further promoting exports.
Thailand is India’s major competitor in vannamei, though the size difference sets India apart. The Thai Shrimp Association estimates 2011 world shrimp production was about 2.3 million metric tons, slightly down from 2010, with Thai farmed shrimp making up 600,000 metric tons, down 6 percent. The country’s exports for the 11 months ending in November were 361,460 metric tons, a 7.87 percent contraction from the same period last year. But, by value, they rose 9.78 percent compared with all of 2010.
Thailand may be hurt by an EU review of its General System of Preferences (GSP) rules to cut the number of developing countries that enjoy reduced tariff rates. The GSP rate is 4.2 percent for fresh Thai shrimp and 7 percent for processed. These could rise to 12 and 20 percent respectively if Thailand loses its preference. The EU made up 16 percent of Thai shrimp shipments last year.?The president of the Krabi Shrimp Farmers Club in southern Thailand said production of black tiger in his area, though small, is growing, because it offers more opportunity for export to China, which has turned from exporter to importer due to rising domestic consumption. Chinese production is mainly vannamei.
