G.V. Ramana Rao

Only the registered ones can export their produce

VIJAYAWADA: Sea food exporters will not purchase aquaculture produce from farmers who have not registered themselves with the Coastal Aquaculture Authority (CAA), from Wednesday onwards.

The Export Inspection Council of India under the Union Ministry of Commerce has made it mandatory for all farmed shrimp or scampi to be screened for residues of banned antibiotics.

These stringent steps have been proposed subsequent to rejection of Indian aquaculture produce by the European Union and other developed countries. According to the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), 36 containers of sea food, each worth Rs. 60 lakh, were rejected by the importing countries in the last financial year and this year 13 containers were rejected in the first quarter itself. Andhra Pradesh is in the first place in the country because 50 per cent of the Rs. 3,000-crore sea food exported during 2006-07 was from the State. But now there are fears that the State, which stands first in shrimp exports in the country, will be displaced from the coveted spot. Exporters were pushed to take these difficult decisions following stringent stipulations introduced by the European Union. Exporters who earlier announced November 1, 2008 as the deadline for registration extended it to April 1, 2009, because of little response from aqua farmers.

Commissioner of Fisheries Arvind Kumar told The Hindu that a special drive was taken up for registration of the aqua farms. Out of the 27,078 aqua farms in the State, only 10,727 were found eligible for CAA registration. Nearly 7,000 aqua farms in the State have become defunct and 3,000 were not eligible for CAA registration because they were encroachments on government lands. While over 1,000 aqua farmers shifted from coastal aquaculture (marine and brackish water) to freshwater culture, another 6,000 aqua farmers shifted to agriculture and other activities, Mr. Arvind Kumar said.

MPEDA Deputy Director Saifuddin Anis said that the agency established six ELISA laboratories with the capability to screen samples for banned antibiotics. Exporters would not purchase their produce without a certificate from MPEDA on the grounds that they were not anti-biotic residue free, he said. ELISA labs have been established in Nellore, Ongole, Bapatla, Bhimavaram, Amalapuram and Kakinada to cover the entire nine coastal districts. Contact on 0866-2433050 or 94418 86021 for details