Two Largest Ecuador Shrimp Companies Lose Export Approvals to China due to Virus-Infected Shrimps

Speedy Assay Editorial News
Two Largest Ecuador Shrimp Companies Lose Export Approvals to China due to Virus-Infected Shrimps

Pesquera Santa Priscila, Ecuador’s largest shrimp company, and Omarsa, the second-largest, lost approvals to export shrimp to China due to presence of Yellow Head Virus (YHV) and White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) in shrimps.

This temporary ban on export approvals to China occurred when Chinese authorities detected WSSV in Santa Priscila’s shrimps and YHV in Omarsa’s shrimps. Omarsa’s shipments and Santa Priscila’s shipments were banned from entering into China after 5th August and 23rd August last year in 2019 respectively.

Lately, Ecuador’s shrimp economy has become very dependent on the Chinese market as China is their largest market. However, the implementation of this temporary ban will surely have a toll on Ecuador’s shrimp economy. Reports suggest that the combined loss of the two companies may be close to $1 billion worth of shrimps.

This temporary ban also negatively affected China as the Ecuador companies shipped a combined 100,000t of shrimps. China will have to find other shrimp exporters during the ban, which can lead to higher cost.  Locals in China commented on the temporary ban as local shrimp prices increased since the suspension.

To avoid this problem, Speedy Assay has developed the ShrimpCheck WSSV and YHV Rapid Test Kits, which can rapidly detect the target virus in shrimps. With its ability to produce accurate results and can be easily operated, it is the perfect tool for early detection and prevention of shrimp diseases among shrimp farmers.

We also developed the ShrimpCheck Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Real-time PCR kits that also detect these viruses. These kits are 100% sensitive and specific to the YHV and WSSV in shrimps. The kits come with internal and external controls to ensure that the results are reliable. Our kits are to ensure it guarantees our customers a solution for aquaculture safety via molecular diagnosis approaches and lateral flow platforms.

To learn more about ShrimpCheck WSSV and YHV Rapid Test Kits, PCR kits, and Real-time PCR kits, please click here.

References:

  1. Undercurrent News. Santa Priscila, Omarsa shrimp units confirmed as losing export approval to China. Accessed 7th February 2020.