Shrimp products of Zhanjiang LongWei Marine Co Ltd were removed from the Detention without Physical Examination (DWPE) by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States on June 5.

LongWei is the first processing enterprise for export aquatic products in Zhanjiang that was removed from the DWPE since the beginning of this year. To date, shrimp products of seven aquatic product processing enterprises in the city have been removed from the DWPE.

Zhanjiang is an important base for aquatic product breeding, processing, logistics distribution, and export in Guangdong province and the whole country, with prawns being a major feature of the city's aquatic products.

After years of development, the city has formed a mature prawn industry chain, with its prawn products being exported to European countries, the US, Canada, and Australia.

The FDA has been applying the DWPE to China's shrimp products since 2007. Once a firm or a product becomes subject to the DWPE, all shipments from that firm or of the product will be detained by the FDA and undergo lot by lot inspection. This creates multiple obstacles, such as increasing storage costs and the untimely turnover of goods, adding to the export risks of enterprises and increasing their customs clearance costs.

Officers of Zhanjiang Customs conduct day-to-day supervision at processing enterprises for export aquatic products. [Photo/Zhanjiang Daily]