The activities of many companies exporting aquaculture products are now under scanner after the goods seized by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) from a shipping container at the Visakhapatnam Port tested positive for a variety of narcotic drugs.
In response to an alert issued by Interpol, the CBI officials seized the goods imported by Sandhya Aqua Exports Private Limited from Santos Port in Brazil on March 20. The investigation officers questioned the representatives of the company which imported the goods mentioned as ‘inactive dried yeast’ used as fish and shrimp feed.
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the CBI, Customs and other departments, which participated in ‘Operation Garuda’ questioned many aqua export and import companies in Andhra Pradesh.
However, the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), the licensing authority for the aqua companies, has been tight-lipped on the drug bust.
“We are verifying whether the aqua company which imported the dry yeast has flouted any regulation,” an MPEDA official said on teh condition of anonymity.
The MPEDA issues trade licences under the MPEDA Act and Rules, 1972. The company should obtain permission from the Export Inspection Agency (EIA) and possess health, origin, quality control and other certificates for shipping.
India exports marine products such as shrimp, mud crab, pompano, pangasius, tilapia fish and others to more than 100 countries including the U.S.A., China, European Union, Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and the Middle East.
“Some aqua companies are importing dry yeast, an ingredient in fish and shrimp feed, from different places, after entering into agreements with some feed manufacturing units in the State,” a shrimp exporter told The Hindu on April 8 (Monday).
The MPEDA, EIA and other agencies should undertake regular inspections of the activities of the aqua export and import companies and verify whether the managements are doing business in compliance with the law.
More than 200 aqua export companies are operating from Andhra Pradesh, of which most of them function from Bhimavaram, Visakhapatnam, Nellore and Vijayawada.
The CBI officials, who inspected the plants of Sandhya Aqua Export Private Limited, inquired about the operations of some other companies in the State, said an aqua trader.
