July 27, 2010

Buoyant export market for Thai shrimp this year

The National Food Institution (NFI) expects Thai shrimp export to be lively in the international market with current growth rate of 12%, as supported by the recovering global economy and the sector's competitiveness.

According to the NFI, Thai shrimp and processed product exports in 2009, despite sluggish global economy, still went on smoothly with the rate of global market share as high as 23.9%. Export volume was at 389,999 tonnes worth THB93.54 billion (US$2.9 billion), or 12.23% of overall food exports of the country. Major markets for Thai shrimp exports were the US at 48.9%, followed by Japan at 20.4%, EU at 12.5%, Canada 5.6%, Australia 2.4% and South Korea at 2.1%.

By 2010, NFI views that shrimp export of Thailand will expand continuously following the recovery of global economy and several advantages over other competitors, for example, certified safety management system, high quality of related materials, skilled workforce and the efficiency in adding value for the products as well as stable markets.

NFI executive vice president Amorn Ngammongkolrat stated that during Q1/2010 shrimp export volume was 90,461 tonnes, a rise by 21.06% on-year, worth THB20.59 billion (US$640 million), up by 26.11%, which was higher growth rate as compared with other competitors like China, Ecuador, and Argentina.

Meanwhile, the new wave of financial crisis in EU will be closely monitored as the EU is the third largest market of Thai export, and the problem may affect long-term purchasing orders.

Currently, Thailand can produce shrimps and processed products at around 500 billion tonnes a year, while 80% of those or around 400 billion tonnes are for exports. The country can earn income from the sector at more than THB90 billion (US$2.8 billion), making the country the number one exporter in the world for shrimp and processed products.