Correspondence
Email sent to Distribuciones Rodrigo.
The email said: "I’m contacting you in light of our latest investigation which concerns the use of forced labor in China’s seafood processing industry, and a link we’ve discovered between companies engaged in such practices and suppliers in your supply chain.
Your suppliers Delfin Ultracongelados and Froxa are supplied by companies in the Chishan Group, namely Shandong Haidu, Rongcheng Haibo, and Rongcheng Jinyuan. The Chishan Group has received persons from the Xinjiang region of China under a state-imposed labor transfer program. The United Nations, human rights organizations and academic experts agree that since 2018, the Chinese government has systematically subjected Xinjiang’s predominantly Muslim ethnic minorities to forced labor across the country via state-sanctioned employment schemes which use coercive methods in worker enrollment. The U.S. has prohibited the importation of goods produced from state-imposed forced labor.
Fishing vessels owned by the Chishan Group have also been observed fishing in North Korean waters in contravention of UN sanctions and fishing illegally in Indonesian waters. The group also owns at least two reefer vessels which have transshipped with dozens of fishing ships tied to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing as well as human rights abuses.
Does Distribuciones Rodrigo have any comment or clarification to make regarding the above information? Please respond to this email by close of business on August 25, 2023."