produced fish. Nonetheless , fishery imports also increased last year into China with a total import volume of 3.71 million MT valued at US$ 5.12 billion as reported by the China Customs. Imports of fish meal bounced back to a record level of 1.35 million MT, supplies of food fish increased marginally (+1.7%) from 2.34 million MT in 2007 to 2.369 million MT last year.

CHINA  STRENGTHENS FOOD SAFETY CONTROL

China’s legislature has approved the Food Safety Law, providing a legal framework for the government to strengthen food safety control measures from the production line to the dining table.

In a report by Xinhau, the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee gave the green light to the draft law, which goes into effect on June 1, 2009. The law states that the state council shall set up a food safety commission to oversee the entire food monitoring system. These would include risk evaluation, the making and implementation of safety standards, and the monitoring of the food production and circulation sectors.

The law stipulates for a ban on all chemicals and materials, other than authorised additives in food production. Health authorities are responsible for assessing and approving food additives and regulating their usage. Food producers must only use food additives approved by the authorities, or face penalty of closure or revocation of production licenses in serious cases, according to the law.

Producers of edible farm products are required to abide by food safety standards when using pesticide, fertilizers, growth regulators, veterinary drugs, feedstuff and feed additives. They must also keep farming or breeding records.

US  EDIBLE  FISHERY IMPORTS DECLINING IN 2008

The US Department of Commerce reported a 0.4% decline in imports of food fish and fishery products in 2008; which means a 54 607 MT lower imports compared to 2007. This will show a negative trend on the 2008 US per capita consumption of fish and seafood, as more than 80% of the country’s food fish supply comes from imported sources. 

The import value, on the converse, increased by US$ 474 million due to the weaker US dollar against the currencies in the supplying countries. Following a worldwide price hike for tuna in 2008, importers also paid more for tuna products which is the second most popular seafood in the USA, after shrimp.

Last year the US market imported 2.37 million MT of edible fishery products at a Customs declared value of US$ 14.2 billion. The top six suppliers in value were Canada, China, Thailand, Chile, Indonesia and Vietnam. Although third