June 5, 2008

Thai minister to negotiate shrimp deals with Chile and France
    

Thailand's commerce minister Mingkwan Saengsuwan has disclosed plans to request Chile and France to import Thai shrimps in an effort to boost domestic shrimp prices.

Mingkwan would be requesting mega-stores in France such as Carrefour to buy more Thai shrimps. He also noted that Chile only imports shrimps from Ecuador.

Mingkwan has already held talks with Canada's trade minister, requesting him to import the marine product.

Furthermore, Mingkwan also clarified to the US trade representative that the Thai government did not abuse labourers in the shrimp industry, referring to the 40-page labour rights abuse report released by the American Center for International Labor Solidarity (ACILS).

The report has led to freezing plants stopping their imports of Thai shrimps, causing the prices to drop, according to Mingkwan.