The European Commission is seeking a ban on Malaysian seafood and live fish imports over concerns they fail to meet European Union standards, an official said June 11.

The action comes after random checks of nine seafood companies by the EU's Food and Veterinary Office, in cooperation with Malaysian health authorities, showed that six were lax in health standards and practices.

"The commission is proposing to the member states the adoption of two draft decisions suspending imports of fisheries products and live fish, except tropical ornamental fish, from Malaysia," an EC official said on condition of anonymity.

In anticipation of EU action, Malaysia's frozen seafood industry urged the European Union to hold off on banning its
multi-billion-dollar exports.

"A ban will be devastating for us as Europe is one of our major markets and it would result in many of us going out of business," said Ch'ng Chin, head of the Malaysian Frozen Food and Processors Association.

Ch'ng said that most of his association's 20 food processing members have adopted EU standards and that they were planning to get European importers to help lobby against the ban. But he admitted that there were "some fishing vessels, landing ports and aquaculture ponds that did not meet EU standards."