Many local seafood exporters are on the brink of halting operation, or even bankruptcy, as their shrimp exports to Japan have recently been found to contain excessive levels of the antibiotic enrofloxacin.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnamese shrimps  bound for Japan last year were 56 times detected to be tainted with enrofloxacin residues exceeding limits .

Consequently, Vietnam had to re-import the aquatic products, which the ministry said not only created adverse impact on the reputation of the local industry but could also cause some foreign markets to turn back on Vietnamese seafood.

Hoang Thanh Vu, an employee in charge of quality at a frozen shrimp exporter, said his company had been three times warned by Japanese importers about the antibiotic residue.

Should the business receive one more warning, the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (Nafiquad) will suspend its exports, driving the company to a tough spot, he lamented.

Meanwhile, although most local seafood exporters are aware of the consequence of having their shrimp exports containing excess levels of antibiotic, and have spent billions of dong on input material testing, they still failed to detect all of the contaminated products before exports.

Tran Van Pham, CEO of seafood company Stapimex, said the company last year spent VND11 billion for antibiotic test on the shrimps right at the company’s facility before exports.

“There were times when our containers were held at the Japanese or Canadian ports for up to 10 days, burdening our pressure of clearing bank loan interests, and warehouse leasing costs,” Pham said.

Similarly, Vu said his company had to earmark a total of around VND6.75 billion on enrofloxacin tests.

Nguyen Nhu Tiep, head of Nafiquad, said his institution had fostered checks and tests on seafood exporters prior to their shipment.

However, most exporters said such strengthened inspections would only exacerbate the difficulties of exporters with the hefty costs for antibiotic tests, rather than helping increase the export quality.

For his part, Truong Dinh Hoe, General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP), conducting tests on the processed products prior to exports would not be a comprehensive solution to the issue, since farmers still continued to use enrofloxacin in their shrimp feeding.

“Meanwhile, asking farmers to stop using the antibiotic before reaping the crop is out of exporters’ control,” Hoe said.

“Thus, VASEP have repeatedly urged the General Seafood Department to consider prohibiting the use of enrofloxacin in shrimp feeding, while providing guidance for farmers to use alternative chemicals to completely curb this issue.”

However, Pham Anh tuan, deputy head of the General Seafood Department, said the department has yet to be able to ban the use of enrofloxacin, since many exporting markets such as Japan and the US only limit the levels of this antibiotic, rather than prohibiting it.

However, he added that the department will petition for the enrofloxacin prohibition in aquaculture.

“We are reviewing all of the drugs used in aquaculture, and will eliminate all that contain enrofloxacin from circulation on the market,” Tuan said.

(Source: Vietnamnet)