Colombia updates sanitary requirements for the importation of raw shrimps and prawns from Ecuador, covering fresh, chilled, and frozen forms, to ensure human consumption safety and quality standards.<\/p>\n
Colombia’s farm health agency, the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA), issued Resolution 00018966 on Sept. 28, 2026, setting new health rules for raw shrimp and prawns from Ecuador, to apply from its publication in Colombia’s official gazette.<\/p>\n
The resolution covers raw shrimp and prawns that are fresh, chilled or frozen and meant for people to eat1<\/a><\/sup>. It replaces import rules that ICA says were set more than 20 years ago1<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n In short, every shipment of raw Ecuadorian shrimp entering Colombia must now carry a detailed animal-health certificate from Ecuador’s authorities, with negative laboratory tests for eight shrimp diseases. Shipments that arrive without these papers, or from a plant ICA has not recognised, cannot meet the new rules.<\/p>\n ICA says the old requirements were set through SISPAP, its information system for farm product imports and exports, more than 20 years ago<\/strong>2<\/a><\/sup>. In the agency’s words, those rules no longer give the level of health protection Colombia has chosen. That protection aims to stop animal diseases from entering, settling and spreading in the country2<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n To update the rules, ICA carried out a risk analysis, a study of how likely a disease is to arrive with the goods and how much harm it could do2<\/a><\/sup>. It did this under Decree 1071 of 2015 and in line with the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement on food safety and animal and plant health measures2<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n ICA’s Import Committee approved the update at a meeting on Sept. 23, 2025<\/strong>2<\/a><\/sup>. This committee was created by ICA Resolution 13633 of 2023 to advise on and decide import health requirements for animals, plants and their products2<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n The resolution applies to raw shrimp and prawns (camar\u00f3n y\/o langostino)<\/strong> from the Republic of Ecuador1<\/a><\/sup>. It covers three forms of the product: fresh, chilled and frozen1<\/a><\/sup>. It only covers goods meant for human consumption1<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n The rules apply to every person or company that imports these goods from Ecuador into Colombia1<\/a><\/sup>. The resolution does not list customs tariff codes. It also does not cover cooked shrimp or shrimp from any country other than Ecuador.<\/p>\n The certificate must state how the product was processed2<\/a><\/sup>. That means whether the shrimp are:<\/p>\n All these forms remain covered. The certificate simply has to say which one is in the shipment.<\/p>\n Each shipment of fresh, chilled or frozen crustaceans must arrive with an animal-health certificate (certificado zoosanitario)<\/strong>2<\/a><\/sup>. The competent health authority of the country of origin, here Ecuador, must issue it2<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n The certificate must give these basic details2<\/a><\/sup>:<\/p>\n It must also confirm a series of health conditions about the plant, the farm, the product and the packaging. These are set out in the sections below. A certificate that misses any of these details would not meet the resolution.<\/p>\n The plant of origin must be approved, identified and supervised by Ecuador’s official veterinary service at the time of production and shipment2<\/a><\/sup>. It must also be recognised by ICA<\/strong>2<\/a><\/sup>. This means a plant approved in Ecuador alone is not enough.<\/p>\n The farm or aquaculture site where the shrimp were raised must be under an official health monitoring programme2<\/a><\/sup>. The product, or the raw material it came from, must also fall under a programme that controls drug residues and food hygiene2<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n The goods must carry an official stamp or printed seal2<\/a><\/sup>. This mark proves the shrimp came from the plants named on the certificate2<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n The farm of origin must run a farm monitoring programme every six months<\/strong> for diseases listed by WOAH, the World Organisation for Animal Health2<\/a><\/sup>. This programme must rest on sound disease-surveillance designs set by the health authority2<\/a><\/sup>. It must include PCR tests, a laboratory method that detects the genetic material of a virus or bacterium, with negative results2<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n The eight diseases are2<\/a><\/sup>:<\/p>\n There is a second layer of testing. Each lot<\/strong> of product must also be tested by Rt-PCR with negative results for the same eight diseases2<\/a><\/sup>. The test results must be attached to the certificate2<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n The certificate must also confirm that no deaths from these diseases were seen on the farm or in the area during the three months<\/strong> before processing2<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n The shrimp must not have touched animals or products of lower health status2<\/a><\/sup>. They also must not have touched water or ice contaminated with germs that affect shrimp2<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n The boxes or packaging must be new, used for the first time<\/strong>2<\/a><\/sup>. They must be drip-proof where needed and disinfected before leaving the plant2<\/a><\/sup>. They must also be packed in containers that stop waste water and other dirty material from leaking out during transport2<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n The importer must tell ICA’s port health office about the arrival 24 hours in advance<\/strong>2<\/a><\/sup>. When ICA thinks it necessary, it will take samples from the shipment for laboratory tests2<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n ICA staff who inspect and control these imports act as health police inspectors under Article 65 of Law 101 of 19932<\/a><\/sup>. They can count on support from civil and military authorities2<\/a><\/sup>. Every official control must be recorded in a written or digital report signed by those present, with a copy left on site2<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n Breaking any rule in the resolution will be punished under Articles 156 and 157 of Law 1955 of 20192<\/a><\/sup>. Civil or criminal action may also follow2<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n The change touches several groups along the supply chain:<\/p>\n The heaviest new work falls on the Ecuadorian side, where the testing and paperwork start. Colombian importers carry the risk at the port if those papers are incomplete.<\/p>\n The resolution takes effect on the date it is published in the Diario Oficial<\/strong>, Colombia’s official gazette1<\/a><\/sup>. From that date, all import procedures for these goods must follow the new requirements1<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n There is a transition rule. Animal-health import documents issued before the resolution takes effect stay valid until the expiry date<\/strong> printed on them2<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n The final text follows an earlier draft of the same resolution3<\/a><\/sup>. ICA ran a national and international public consultation, including notice to the WTO, before adopting it2<\/a><\/sup>. The requirements in the final text match those in the draft, item by item3<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n The table sums up the main facts of the resolution.<\/p>\nWhy did ICA rewrite the Ecuador shrimp rules?<\/h2>\n
From approval to signature<\/h4>\n
What does the new resolution cover?<\/h2>\n
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What must the Ecuadorian health certificate show?<\/h2>\n
What travels with each shrimp shipment<\/h4>\n
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Which processing plants can ship to Colombia?<\/h2>\n
Which shrimp diseases must be tested?<\/h2>\n
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What are the rules on contact and packaging?<\/h2>\n
What happens when a shipment reaches a Colombian port?<\/h2>\n
Who is affected and what changes for each?<\/h2>\n
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Who has to act<\/h4>\n
When do the new shrimp rules start?<\/h2>\n
Key points on Colombia’s Ecuador shrimp rules<\/h2>\n