April 7, 2009
US cancels export guarantees on Thailand shrimp
Thailand is seen to bring in more shrimps with better prices to the US this year after the latter removed Thai shrimp exporters from its export guarantee programme.
Following the World Trade Organization's ruling on April 1, 2009 to terminate the guarantee fund called the Continuous Bond (C-Bond), the US had revoked the collection of export guarantee bonds on Thailand, said Thai Minister of Commerce Porntiva Nakasai. With the ruling, Porntiva said Thailand could regain US$150 million or around 5.4 billion baht in export guarantees back from the US.
The US had earlier required Thai shrimp exporters to pay 10 percent, but not over US$50,000 of the anti-dumping tax as export guarantees in order to get access to the US market.
More than 50 percent of the Thailand's total export value yearly to the US is from shrimp exports, making the US its biggest shrimp market overseas. In 2008, Thai shrimp exports to the US were estimated at 43.17 billion baht, higher from 42.52 billion baht in 2007 or up by 1.52 percent.
