It has been four months since Mexican authorities blocked shrimp imports from Honduras, with no solution in sight in the short term.
Alleging the presence of the yellow head disease, a blockade has been in effect in the North American country since October 20.
As a result of a commercial dispute, sales of shrimp abroad declined in the last year. According to the Honduran association of fish farmers, between 2016 and 2017 the export volume fell from 13.9 million pounds to 10.7 million pounds, which is equivalent to a reduction of 23%.
In this context, Arnaldo Castillo, the Secretary of Economic Development of Honduras, sent a letter on February 8 of this year to his Mexican counterpart, Idelfonso Guardado, requesting a resolution of the commercial dispute.
According to Elheraldo.hn in the letter the Honduran official states that ” … the Australian Animal Health Laboratory (CSIRO) confirmed that ‘there is no presence of the Yellow Head Disease virus in the samples collected by Senasa and sent in a prompt manner to the Senasica’.”
In the letter Castillo requests ” … that the corresponding authority intercede to lift the restrictive measure on Honduran shrimp’s entry into the Mexican market, which represents a clear economic impact on producers of this product in Honduras. “
