All imported Vietnamese shrimp are under Japanese scanner as the batches contain pesticide residue, confirms the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP). The decision, released on October 24, followed the discovery of excess levels of pesticide trifluralin, over 1 microgram a kilogram, in three shipments in September and October, informs Truong Dinh Hoe, VASEP general secretary.
According to Dinh Japan had previously begun inspecting 30 percent of Vietnamese shrimp imports after warning the country about traces of trifluralin early this year. Japanese companies were dropping the price they offered for Vietnamese shrimp or turning to other countries for supplies.
Vietnam banned the use of trfluralin in aquaculture in April, but it was unclear how well the order was being enforced since the pesticide could still be found on sale in the Mekong Delta, the largest shrimp-farming area of Vietnam, and farmers continued to use the substance to kill unwanted parasites in shrimp farming.
Ngo Van Nga, director of the Quoc Viet Seafood Processing Co. said that complete control on Vietnamese shrimp was impossible because each container holds shrimp from many different ponds. If Japan rejects exports batches due to trifluralin residues, exporters lose US$10,000 a container on expenses like transport and storage.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development should restrict the use of trifluralin in aquaculture by November 15, 2010. Businesses, meanwhile, proposed the VASEP and other related agencies strengthen the inspection of products containing trifluralin for aquaculture to ensure that export products are trifluralin-free.
