Frozen seafood firms rush to build up suppies as floods head to Mahachai
Seafood producers at Mahachai Market in Samut Sakhon, a coastal province bordering Bangkok, have been working overtime to build up two months of supplies before the floodwaters reach them.
Cold storage operators at the market, the country’s largest trading centre for fresh and frozen seafood, have seen their incomes cut in half during the flood as exporters are reluctant to keep their raw materials in cold storage.
“Exporters are afraid that they cannot carry their raw materials out from cold storage at Mahachai as the flood is expanding,” a cold storage facility owner said last week.
The flood is nearing Mahachai and Rama II Road. Operators are facing increases in logistics costs of 10-20 per cent due to the greater difficulty in transporting freight.
The cold storage operators are now trying to set up their own barriers and pumps to prevent flooding in the near future.
The cold storage business alone generates at least Bt500 million a day.
Traders are now seeking some temporary cold storage facilities in other areas.
The source called for the government to urgently attempt to protect the market and Rama II Road, otherwise frozen food exports will be seriously curtailed.
The domestic supply of fresh and frozen foods could plummet by 30-40 per cent if the market and Rama II Road are swamped, the source added.
Anurat Khokasai, chief operations and marketing officer at Prantalay Marketing, which is located in Samut Sakhon, said the firm has rapidly ramped up production to build a two-month stockpile.
The flood was expected to reach the plant’s area on Sunday. The firm has already protected its factory and shipped some stocks to Mae Klong in Samut Songkram.
If the water overruns the plant, local consumers can rest assured that there will be enough products from Prantalay in the next couple months.
To ensure that production runs smoothly, the firm has ordered packages in advance to last at least two months before its packaging suppliers in Katum Ban are inundated.
Prantalay’s parent company Thai Union Frozen (TUF), the country’s leading frozen foods manufacturer and exporter, has also boosted output for shipment next month. TUF has been manufacturing food products for the Christmas period. The last shipments for Christmas and New Year should leave by Friday(Nov 25).
Prantalay also plans to move its major inventory from Samut Sakhon to cold storage facilities in Mae Klong and Chon Buri.
Prantalay’s sales rose by 15 per cent last month due to the severe floods. In the first 10 months of the year, the firm achieved Bt1.2 billion in revenue, while TUF attained Bt8.5 billion in sales.
