June 8, 2026
 

Thai shrimp industry calls for government-level talks with Malaysia as 100-tonne daily export blockage mounts

The bilateral dispute, triggered by a disagreement over seabass residue testing rather than shrimp quality, has left cold storage operators absorbing excess stock amid already weak demand from the US and Japan.

Thailand's shrimp industry has escalated calls for direct government-to-government negotiations with Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur's suspension of Thai shrimp imports, effective 1 June, cut off an estimated 100 tonnes of daily exports and pushed cold storage operators to capacity.

Ekapoj Yodpinit, president of the Thai Shrimp Association, said the association has written to Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul urging him to engage Malaysia directly, describing the matter as a bilateral trade dispute that cannot be resolved at the fisheries authority level alone. The suspension covers five species: whiteleg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei), giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon), brown tiger prawn (Penaeus esculentus), banana prawn (Fenneropenaeus merguiensis) and blue shrimp (Penaeus stylirostris).

Malaysia's Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security announced the temporary ban in May as part of tighter controls on fisheries imports from Thailand. However, Ekapoj said the underlying cause was a dispute over Thailand's residue inspection procedures for Malaysian seabass imports, which can take 10 to 15 days to complete. He acknowledged Malaysian concerns while maintaining that Thailand's food safety standards must be upheld, noting that authorities had previously detected residue contamination in Malaysian seabass.

The disruption is compounding pressure on an industry already contending with slowing purchases from the United States and Japan. The association estimates that approximately 3,000 tonnes of shrimp per month had previously moved through Malaysian export routes. With that channel closed, buyers have reduced purchasing activity and cold storage operators are struggling to absorb the surplus.

Thailand's Ministry of Commerce has announced 13 support measures for shrimp farmers and exporters, including domestic sales promotion and identification of alternative export markets, with a target of absorbing at least 400 tonnes per month. Ekapoj cautioned that these measures would not fully offset losses from the Malaysian market and called for a negotiated settlement before the disruption causes wider damage to the industry.

- Bernama / Malay Mail