July 17, 2009
Thai group warns AH1N1 flu may affect shrimp exports
The Thai Prawn Association called on the government to quickly control the AH1N1 flu pandemic on Thursday (July 16), warning it could be used as the reason for blocking imports of Thai shrimp by trade partners.
According to a spokesperson, the country's trade partners had cited the bird flu pandemic in Thailand as a non-tariff trade barrier, preventing Thai chicken from being shipped to their countries.
They might use the same old tactic again if the government is too slow to settle the AH1N1 flu outbreak.
The spokesperson said the export of shrimp had not yet been affected by the flu as Japan and the EU, major markets of Thai shrimp, were still placing orders with Thailand.
The export value of shrimp over the first five months of this year increased from the same period last year by 12.55 percent to THB29 billion.
