Broughton Misleads Shareholders over Burma Fish Exports.
BAT’s Putrid Prawns Denied Entry to the USA.
An investigation by the Burma Campaign UK and Federation of Trade Unions- Burma (FTUB) has exposed the bizarre story of BAT’s trade in fish and prawns.
Early this year the FTUB received reports that BAT’s Burmese subsidiary – a joint venture with the military dictatorship – was having problems finding the foreign currency it needed to pay for tobacco imports and keep the factory running. In desperation BAT turned to wet fish. Using money from cigarette sales BAT was buying fish and prawns and exporting them to Hong Kong and the US. There they sold them for dollars.
When asked about this at BAT‘s AGM on April 15th, Chairman Martin Broughton denied the story, claiming they did have a relationship with a local exporter, but it was for foreign currency purposes only and they were not exporting fish.
But the Burma Campaign UK and FTUB have smoked out the truth. Documents smuggled out of Burma and documents from the US government prove BAT is exporting wet and frozen fish from Burma.
Embarrassingly for BAT, one of its shipments of prawns was impounded by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Its website gave the following reason:
“FILTHY
The article appears to consist in whole or in part of a filthy, putrid, or decomposed substance or be otherwise unfit for food.” On the 17 December 2002 the FDA refused entry to the shipment.
To add to BAT’s woes, Burma’s shrimp industry is notorious for the endemic use of forced labour, and Burmese shrimp are on an EU watch list because of dangerous levels of a banned antibiotic found in samples.
“Martin Broughton is Britain’s highest paid fishmonger,” said John Jackson, Director of the Burma Campaign UK. “It’s not surprising BAT didn’t want this story getting out. Transporting rotten prawns more than 9,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean doesn’t say much for their business acumen.”
In July this year the British government asked BAT to pull out of Burma. BAT responded that it would consider the request.
For more information and copies of export documents contact John Jackson, Director, or Mark Farmaner, Media Officer, on 020 7281 7377
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1) BAT’s subsidiary in Burma is Rothmans of Pall Mall Myanmar.
2) The FDA announcement can be viewed athttp://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/12/ora_oasis_c_bu.html.
3) BAT has said transcripts of the AGM are not available.