Shrimp File photo:VCG

 
Ecuador has promised China that it will perform the "necessary procedures" to guarantee the safety of exported products, the Embassy of the Republic of Ecuador in China told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Under the framework of friendship and close relations between the two countries, the issue has been overcome, and Ecuador will continue to develop friendly and cooperative relations with China, Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Luis Gallegos said.

The Global Times learned from the Embassy of the Republic of Ecuador in China on Wednesday that the Ecuadorian government has conducted at least four rounds of talks with the Chinese government regarding the detection of novel coronavirus in the packaging of frozen white shrimps from the South American country.

China's customs authority said Friday that it had decided to halt imports from three Ecuadorian shrimp producers after sample inspections showed coronavirus contamination in recent shipments.

Samples collected from the three firms tested positive for the coronavirus on July 3, said Bi Kexin, head of the import and export food safety bureau of the General Administration of Customs.

The temporary import ban became effective starting Friday.

The contaminated products were found by customs in Dalian, North East China's Liaoning Province and Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province.

The customs also ordered frozen shrimps produced by the three companies after March 12 to be returned or destroyed.

Experts decided that the result of the detection did not mean that it was infectious, but it showed that the food safety management systems of the relevant enterprises were not properly implemented, according to Bi.

Many Chinese online platforms and restaurants started to halt sales or recall Ecuadorian shrimp products on Friday, sparking concerns that the shrimp could be contaminated.

The Ecuadorian side actively conducted meetings with Chinese officials this week, hoping to find solutions for safe exports of its frozen shrimp to the Chinese market.

Data from the Ecuador Aquaculture Association showed that from January to March 2020, Ecuador's shrimp exports reached $908 million, a year-on-year increase of 12 percent. 

China, the US and Spain were the top three export destinations, with exports to China up by 59.4 percent year-on-year. In March, China bought 56.9 percent of the white shrimp, with the proportion rising to 82 percent in April.