This comes after reports surfaced in Indonesia claiming that smugglers have been illegally exporting lobster larva to Singapore. - PHOTO: DIREKTORAT JENDERAL BEA DAN CUKAI/FACEBOOK
JAKARTA (The Straits Times/ANN): Singapore is tightening a rule on re-exporting live animals from Oct 1 by requiring local traders to submit a health certificate issued by the animals’ country of origin to destinations that require export health documentation from the Republic.
“The health certificate should attest to the health/animal disease conditions of the re-exported live food animals,” the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said in a trade circular on Aug 25.
The rule applies to any live bird, mammal, reptile, amphibian or fish, as well as their young and eggs.
This requirement, which the agency said arose from its own regular process reviews, is intended to enhance its export certification regime to improve trade facilitation.
“With effect from Oct 1, 2023, for re-export of imported live food animals to (the) destination country/region that requires an export health certificate to be issued by SFA, traders will need to submit a health certificate issued by the country of origin of the live food animals,” the authority said.
This comes after reports surfaced in Indonesia in August claiming that smugglers have been illegally exporting lobster larvae from the archipelago to Singapore. The larvae – which are small, translucent versions of adult lobsters – are then allegedly shipped off to buyers in other countries like Vietnam and China.
Indonesia has banned the export of lobster larvae since 2021 over concerns about environmental sustainability and corruption arising from the business.
The most recent case of illegal lobster larvae smuggling was in July, when a Customs officer in Batam seized a shipment of nearly 50,000 larvae bound for Singapore. Reports say that the value of the shipment was estimated at 5.55 billion rupiah (S$492,000).
SFA told The Straits Times on Friday that cross-border trading of lobster larvae in and of itself does not contravene Singapore’s national laws as well as any international ones.
However, it stressed that the country supports sustainable fisheries development, in accordance with its national laws and international obligations.
“Singapore adopts a strict and uncompromising approach on activities that violate our laws and these obligations,” the authority said.
In its Aug 25 circular, SFA reminded exporters to put in place a system to ensure that the consignments to be re-exported comply with the standards and regulations of the destination country or region.
“This is to ensure the safety and traceability of the reexported consignments,” it said. - The Straits Times/ANN
