Thailand seafood exports seen to grow in 2010

Thailand is expected to export US$3.55 billion worth of seafood in 2010, which would be up 2.2% from 2009.

The Thai Frozen Food Association (TFFA) anticipates shrimp exports to account for 65% of the country's total seafood exports, or US$2.3 billion.

Despite the difficult economic climate, Thailand's shrimp exports should reach 362,000 tonnes worth US$2.3 billion this year, while its seafood exports should total 882,600 tonnes worth US$3.47 billion.

TFFA president Panisuan Jamnarnwej remains optimistic about this year but is concerned about Thailand complying with the EU's new catch-certificate requirement. As of January 1, seafood exports to the EU must be accompanied by catch certificates verifying the product was legally harvested.

''Generally, the Thai fishery is a small-scale business and it is quite hard for fishermen to prepare paper documents as required by the EU,'' Panisuan said.

However, the catch-certificate requirement will have little to no impact on Thailand's shrimp exports, since nearly 90% of the country's shrimp production, which should total 520,000 tonnes in 2009, is farmed.