Japan is set to impose a ban on seafood products imported from Vietnam if it has no prompt measures to stop the use of antibiotic residues in seafood export consignments, said a local fisheries association.
The statement was made by the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP) after it received a warning of the concerns made by the Japanese Embassy.
According to the VASEP, another 14 Vietnamese companies have been recently detected using antibiotic residues in their seafood products exported to the Japanese market.
With the discovery, Japan has decided to check all batches of seafood products made in Vietnam, instead of random quarantine as previously.
The association blamed the situation for low awareness of Vietnamese fishermen and aquatic raisers, who are found to use chloramphenicol, a prohibited antibiotic, to preserve seafood products at their preliminary treatment establishments because of its cheap cost.
It requires strict regulation from the State agencies to address the problem because enterprises alone cannot impose a fine on fishermen and aquatic raisers for using such a harmful antibiotic, said a seafood exporter from the Mekong Delta region.
The VASEP, however, failed to tackle the root of the problem as no stringent controls have been made to date, according to a representative from the association.
Japan has long been one of Vietnam’s major seafood customers, buying 40 per cent of Vietnam’s annual total shrimp export volume.
Last year, the frozen shrimp imported by Japan increased by 1.1 per cent over the previous year, reaching US$2 billion. Of the sum, Vietnam-sourced shrimp reportedly accounted for 23 per cent, or US$460 million.
However, the country has imported just 29 per cent of Vietnam’s total seafood export volume since the beginning of the year and this is expected to reduce further. (Vietnam Economic Times)
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