Iran Press/Asia: China imported 23,048 metric tons of shrimp from Saudi Arabia in the first six months of this year, according to figures released by Chinese customs.
The temporary ban was announced on 2 August by China’s General Administration of Customs and applies to Saudi Arabia’s National Aquaculture Group (NAQUA).
NAQUA -- Saudi Arabia's largest aquaculture company -- was previously the only Saudi firm allowed to export to China. The Saudi firm NAQUA has not commented on the Chinese ban.
Chinese industry publication Foodspath said Chinese customs detected white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) in a shipment of shrimp. Citing an industry source, it reported Chinese customs implemented the ban “to prevent the disease from entering China."
The temporary ban was shortly followed by market access being granted to several Iranian shrimp exporters.
Iran exports some 30,000 tons of shrimp annually to China, its largest market. It is expected this figure would increase substantially in the coming months.
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