Once again, the Brazilian Association of Shrimp Breeders (ABCC) requested theMinistry of Fisheries and Aquaculture (MPA) to desist from opening the domestic market to allow the entrance of Argentinean shrimp (Pleoticus muelleri).
Earlier this year the MPA ratified the annual purchase of 5,000 tonnes of frozen shrimp for human consumption coming from Argentinean fisheries.
The Association insists that the import of the Argentinean crustacean implies the danger of disease spread. In a letter to the head of the MPA, Marcelo Crivella, the ABBC reiterates the potential risks associated with the entrance of foreign crustaceans.
The Brazilian government, for its part, ensures the necessary precautions are being taken and provides free imports from this month.
The industry not only opposes to the admission of Argentinean shrimp due to animal health issues but also because it would be marketed at a lower price than that produced in the country, the newspaper Tribuna do Norte reported.
In the letter, the ABCC emphasizes that a disease known as EMS (Early Mortality Syndrome) is affecting countries like Thailand, Vietnam and China, and that this situation will cause a shortage of shrimp in the world market and an increase in the crustacean price, which could benefit local producers.
However, the MPA reiterated that it is not willing to reverse its decision to let the wild shrimp from Argentina enter the country.
"The prohibition without technical base of shrimp imports from Argentina would affect the basic principles of the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the World Trade Organization (WTO)," the Ministry of Fisheries said last month, in response to claims expressed by Brazilian shrimp producers.
From the ABCC they recalled that Brazil has not bought shrimp abroad for three years due to the risk of disease.
In addition, the Brazilian shrimp industry faces another problem: the difficulty in obtaining loans and increasing production.
From the ABCC they recalled that Brazil has not bought shrimp abroad for three years due to the risk of disease. In addition, the Brazilian shrimp industry faces another problem: the difficulty in obtaining loans and increasing production.