Strict Processes Held By Korean Authorities Threatening the Ecuadorian Shrimp Sector

The South Korean market is one of the most demanding and strict when buying Ecuadorian Shrimp. Loads being shipped out to Korea must be free of 7 viruses. Ecuadorian authorities test for the viruses before shipping and the same testing process is carried out by the Korean authorities once loads arrive at their destination port. Although the sample tests in Ecuador come back negative, the number of tests that come back positive in Korea is rapidly increasing. Positive testing in Korea holds the supplier responsible for bringing the shipment back to Ecuador and reship it back again to Korea with the hope that this time the testing will be negative when arriving at its destination. The exporters claim that in the past, the Korean Authorities selected containers for testing randomly, but now they are testing 100% of the cargo coming in with Ecuadorian Shrimp. The situation is putting a lot of pressure and risk on exports to Korea, so Ecuadorian suppliers are trying to make buyers economically responsible for the re-shipment if testing is positive. Some shrimp exporters are considering exporting to different markets due to the high risk of shipping to Korea.