The US’s withdrawal of various technical barriers on shrimp exporters have facilitated the Vietnamese enterprises to boost their shrimp shipments to the market, according to the Ministry of Fisheries (MoF).
The US Food and Drug Association (FDA) recently announced it would test 950 seafood samples collected last year for antibiotic residues, focusing particularly on evidence of chloramphenicol, fluoroquinolones, nitrofurans, oxytetracylines and malachitegreen.
According to the US Seafood Association, the FDA is to continue reducing chloramphenicol residue inspections in future shrimp imports.
The association recently publicized the results of last year’s antibiotic residue examinations on samples imported from 15 countries, including Vietnam.
All the samples tested negative for fluoroquinolone, nitrofuran and oxytetracyline antibiotics. Vietnamese seafood exporters expected the results would lead to a relaxation of technical restrictions on the import of their products.
Despite the encouraging results, local experts warned shrimp exporters must continue striving to improve the quality of their products.
The 2006-10 trade-promotion strategy recently adopted by the MoF is focused on improving the quality of the nations’ seafood.
Under the plan, the ministry is to establish a system to track the origin of products and monitor seafood cultivators, processors and suppliers, ensuring seafood processing establishments nationwide meet hygienic and veterinary standards by 2010.
The ministry is also to oversee efforts to upgrade and modernize seafood processing facilities, and help raise the industry’s capacity to process 3,500 to 4,000 tons of frozen seafood each year by 2010 at a profit of US$4 billion.
The fisheries sector is now striving for export earnings of US$2.8 billion this year, US$300 million higher than last year.
VNS
Vietnamese
