June 3, 2008

Thailand to design programme to boost shrimp prices
   

The Thai government, under pressure from domestic shrimp farmers, has promised to design a shrimp mortgage programme to handle declining prices.

The Commerce Ministry said the shrimp industry is facing declining prices due to oversupply, according to Yanyong Phuangrach, director-general of the Internal Trade Department.

Yanyong said a mortgage programme was seen as necessary to help absorb the excessive shrimp supply.

However, the Commerce Ministry Mingkwan Saengsuwan is away in Peru to attend a meeting, therefore the final decision on the mortgage programme and the amount and price of the shrimp to be purchased have not been made. The programme also has to be approved by the Farmers Assistance Policy Committee chaired by Mingkwan.

Yanyong said the Commerce Ministry would also discuss with major retailers on how to promote domestic shrimp consumption, which only reached 40,000 tonnes. Thai shrimp production is projected to grow 6 percent this year to 530,000 tonnes, with 350,000 tonnes to be exported, according to the Thai Shrimp Association.

Last week, shrimp farmers have threatened to stage a major rally if the government does not facilitate solutions to handle declining shrimp prices and high input costs.

In addition, the Trat Provincial Internal Trade Office reported that about 42 percent of shrimps in the province will enter the market from June to September this year in an effort to encourage domestic shrimp consumption.

However, Trat Provincial Internal Trade Officer Jenarong Sri-intra would like shrimp farmers to lower production for the time being in order to balance the demand and supply for shrimp in the market. Jenarong also expects shrimp prices to improve following the support from the state sector.