Media report states that around two hundred Bangladeshi shrimp consignments are now become stranded in different ports of the world as the new EC rules prevent those to enter European States without carrying a certificate that those are free of oxytetracycline and chlortetracycline bacteria.
In July EC has took a decision to make it mandatory for every export consignment fo seafood should carry an analytical report that there is no presence of chloramphenicol, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline, metabolites of nitrofurans, malachite green and crystal violate and their respective leuco-metabolites. The decision, which came into effect on July 15, also made compulsory testing of 20 percent sample of goods of the consignments.
Commenting on this Commerce Secretary Ghulam Hossain late July wrote a letter to Bernard Van Goethem, director, DG-SANCO of European Commission requesting him to relax the rules of carrying testing certificate of oxytetracycline and chlortetracycline for consignments those were exported before July 13, the date of the new decision. However, Goethem, is yet to reply the Hossain’s letter which put the shrimp exporters at dire state.
Figure shows that about fifty percent of country’s total shrimp export worth US$225 million goes to EU states. Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters Association (BFFEA) sources said that since resumption of shrimp and fish export to EU on January 10 this year, so far only 6 consignments were rejected due to presence of nitrofuran bacteria.
Export earnings from the frozen food sector in fiscal year 2007-08 was about US$534.07 million which shrank to US$454.53 million in 2008-09 and US$442 million in 2009-10. An eight member Bangladeshi delegation led by Commerce Secretary Ghulam Hossain is scheduled to visit Belgium third week September to negotiate the issue of hurdles facing Bangladeshi frozen food export to EU.
