Chinese shrimp ban has little effect on VN
Chinese shrimp ban has little effect on VN
China's temporary halt on importing Vietnamese shrimp following the discovery of an infectious virus in some batches will not significantly affect exports, an official from the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) has said.
Truong Dinh Hoe, the general secretary of VASEP, said that the items banned were fresh shrimp, and the trade of processed shrimp is unaffected. The banned type has been exported in small volumes, so China's pause in imports will not have much affect on Viet Nam's total processing volume for exports.
However, Hoe urged domestic shrimp exporters to follow the developments in this case in order to avoid long-term difficulties trading with China.
Nguyen Nhu Tiep, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's National Agro Forestry Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD) director, said China stopped importing Vietnamese shrimp after an infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHHNV) was uncovered in some of the shrimp imported into the country.
Tiep said this virus has not been known to cause harm to humans, but China were taking the precaution to avoid the virus spreading to other shrimp and killing them.
To re-export shrimp to China, Viet Nam must register with Chinese authorities by providing a list of processing and packaging facilities for seafood products, and also the names of seafood rearing facilities.
The NAFIQAD will collect samples from these facilities to test for IHHNV and other diseases. They will also undertake checks on food hygiene and safety, Tiep said.
According to Viet Nam's General Office of Customs, the export value of shrimp to China in the first 10 months of this year has reached US$143 million, accounting for 8 per cent of the national total export value of shrimp.
Hoe said that VASEP expected Viet Nam to reach its target of making $2.2 billion from shrimp exports, despite the setback in the trade with China.
vietnamnews
