July 16, 2009
Bangladesh food exporters call for local feed preference
Frozen food exports in Bangladesh are urging the government to discourage shrimp feed imports and favour local feed instead.
The Bangladesh Frozen Food Exporters Association blames fish feed imports for the presence of nitrofuran, a toxic chemical, in shrimp.
The association president Md Musa Meah said they are encouraging shrimp farmers to use local feed and want the government to help them produce the feed to make the country free from nitrofuran, which he called a 'scourge'.
Bangladesh imports shrimp feed mostly from Germany and India, Musa said, adding that Indian feed is banned in India.
EU countries had detected nitrofuran in 52 containers in April-June shipments, with the chemical found in fresh water prawns but not in black tiger prawns, Musa said. As a result, shrimp exporters had voluntarily imposed a ban on export to the EU from May 19 for six months.
A delegation from the association said the government should immediately install three machines in Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna to test shrimps.