Japan removed regulation of 100 percent Ethoxyquin testing on Vietnam shrimp
(vasep.com.vn) On January 21st 2014, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (MHLW) issued official announcement on increasing maximum residue limits (MRL) of Ethoxyquin (an anti-oxidant substance used in shrimp feed production) on Vietnam shrimp imported into the market. The new MRL is 0.2 ppm, 20-fold increase from the current level of 0.01ppm. Moreover, Japan decided to lift the regulation of 100 percent Ethoxyquin testing on Vietnam’s shrimp imported into the market.
The new decision is expected to improve shrimp exports of Vietnam to the market in coming time after two year slowdown.
On May 18th 2012, Japan imposed Ethoxyquin inspection on 30 percent of Vietnam shrimp cargoes imported into the market with MRL of 0.01ppm. As a result, Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the market in July and August 2012 started to edge down. Later, Japan decided to check Ethoxyquin on all shrimp consignments originated from Vietnam. Accordingly, Vietnam’s shrimp sales to the market in the second half of 2012 posted a two-digit reduction.
Vietnam’s shrimp sales to the market in 2012 reached only US$617.7 million, reporting a year-on-year increase of 1.7 percent. Japan was the largest importer of Vietnam shrimp with import value of over US$600 million for many past years. Ethoxyquin inspection downgraded Japan to the second position behind the U.S. in 2013.