The increase in seafood exports from small nations like Cambodia and Malaysia after the US government imposed anti-dumping duties on farm-raised shrimps have raised suspicion that some affected countries are evading the high duties by shipping through third-party nations. The move to raise the regulatory standards have surprisingly come not from the US, but from leading seafood exporting nations like Thailand, who seems to be loosing in the illegal operations.

The US International Trade Commission imposed anti-dumping duties on billions of dollars of shrimp imports from Asia and Latin America in 2004, saying that there was a reasonable indication that lower-priced, pond-raised shrimps from Brazil, China, Ecuador, India, Thailand, and Vietnam were hurting the US industry. US mostly harvests shrimp from the sea.

Trade sources point out that Cambodia shipped less than a tonne of shrimp to the US in 2003, before exports soared to 5,330 tonne in 2004. Malaysia exported just 2,205 tonne in 2003, but shipments skyrocketed to 14,180 in 2004. Indonesian exports to the US were up 45% to 56,978 tonne.

Stricter regulation, including traceability of the seafood to its origin, goes well with the USFDA’s drive to ensure safety of imported food-products. Anwar Hasheem of the Seafood Exporters Association of India welcomes the move and adds that India could benefit from the regulation, as it is a producing nation with high potential. India is on the safer side as far as post-catch processing and environmental standards are concerned, as it had to improve its practices and modernise its plants under pressure from the European Union during the 90s. The imposition of anti-dumping duties on Indian shrimps had a deleterious effect, with many exporters withdrawing from the export scenario and shrimp farmers exposed to uncertainties due to shrinking volumes.

Commodities Bureau

Posted online: Monday , April 21, 2008 at 0005 hrs IST

Source: www.financialexpress.com