EU revises shrimps imports norms from India

The European Union (EU) has revised its shrimps imports norms for aquaculture products coming in from India.

Under the new regulations, the member states shall, by using appropriate sampling plans, ensure that official samples are taken from at least 50 per cent of consignments presented for import at border inspection posts on their territory.

The decesion on the revision was taken on October 4, 2016, as per the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed.

This new regulations will impact the Indian shrimp exporter, as EU is the third largest market of seafood importer after US and South East Asia with over 19.70 per cent share weighing close to 950,000 tonnes during 2015-16..

Earlier, as per the EU norm only 10 per cent of the total consignment was taken for inspection, but this a very harsh rule, a shrimp exporter based in Mumbai to EU told AgriTimes on the condition of anonimity.

The government should take up this matter with the EU and convey our concern, as this will also impact foreign exchange as well as jobs here, if some reason the consignment get cancelled, the exporters stressed.

In value terms, shrimps exports to EU was above 20 per cent, as the first place is US with 28.26 per cent and South East Asian countries with 24.59 per cent.

Ajay Dash, President, Seafood Exporters Association of India (SEAI)- Odisha region told AgriTimes, this new norm will impact the exporters as cost of testing will have to be borne by the exporters.

The amendment has been adopted after the results of analytical tests undertaken by official control laboratories demonstrated that the level of compliance of aquaculture products from India with tegard to presence of residues of chloramphenicol, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline and metabolites of nitrofurans is unsatisfactory.

The obligation for a mandatory testing should be strengthened to continue to deter producers in India from misusing the relevant substances and to minimise risks to human health in the European Union, the notification noted.