E China province exports less aquatic products

JINAN, Feb. 3 (Chinese media) -- East China's Shandong Province saw a 3.6 percent

year-on-year decline in aquatic product export in 2008-- the first drop since

2004, the latest customs statistics have shown.

The province exported 776,000 tons of aquatic products last year, according

to the Qingdao Customs.

About 89 percent of the exports went to the European Union (EU), Japan, the

Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States, with the figures broken into

276,000 tons, 170,000 tons, 136,000 tons and 108,000 tons, respectively.

Despite a slight rise of 6.7 percent and 1.5 percent in the exports to the

EU and Japan, the exports to the ROK and the U.S. dropped 24.4 percent and 8

percent from the year-earlier level.

Ma Yongsheng, the head of the statistics department of the Qingdao Customs

in Shandong Province, said that during the past year, the processing and export

of China's aquatic products has received "an unprecedented shock."

"The aquatic enterprises have been reeling from the financial crisis,

frequent food safety accidents and rising production cost," he said.

On Nov. 1, 2008, China raised the export rebate rate for aquatic products

such as frozen fish fillets from 9 percent to 13 percent, and on Dec. 1, the

country again raised the export rebate rate of frozen prawn and crab from 5

percent to 13 percent.

However, Shandong's export of aquatic products in November and December

declined 24.3 percent and 24.4 percent from the corresponding months of the

previous year, respectively.

"The government's measures have eased the cost pressure of the enterprises

to some extent," said Ma, "but the recovery of the industry need a longer time."

The customs official suggested aquatic products enterprises to improve

technologies for quality inspection, raise products' added value, and improve

product quality to cope with a more complex external environment in

2009.