European Union (EU) has been rejecting shrimp consignment from India and the rate of it has gone alarmingly high this year. It has badly affected the Indian marine products export. To add to the crisis, the EU has also threatened to ban imports from India. Along with the EU, Japan and the US have tightened the inspection of marine products, especially cultured shrimp, from India. As the EU is the largest importer of Indian marine products, a ban may hit the export sector hard.
Official figures show that in the period January-July, the EU rejected more than 50 shrimp consignments from India due to detection of an antibiotic residue, presence of bacteria, traces of heavy metals and unhygienic condition of the products. It is said that the total number of rejections in 2008 was around 30. Belgium accounted for the highest number of rejections (20) this year, followed by England, Germany and France.
The leading shrimp exporters said that the rise in the number of rejections create a negetaive impact and this would affect the prospects of Indian marine exports to leading overseas markets since there was tough competition from south-east Asian countries. They said that in spite of various government agencies examining shrimp consignments, the sharp rise in rejections should be taken seriously. Because of the passive approach of these agencies that the number of rejected consignments had increased this year, they observed.
