High production costs, low output hitting shrimp exports
The Thai Frozen Foods Association admitted recently that shrimp exports have been affected by high cost of production and low output.
Poj Aramwattananont, the association’s president, said Thai shrimp cannot compete with large producers like India and Vietnam because the cost of production is high, the harvests are small and the baht has been on an upward trend.
Trying to solve the problem by applying a price-stability scheme is only a temporary fix, he said, adding that the authorities should first try to reduce the cost of production and the first step would be to reduce the cost of electricity.
Shrimp farmers are being charged the commercial rate for electricity, which is a lot higher than the rate for household power consumption.
Moreover, he said, the authorities should allocate disease-free areas for shrimp farming and cut down on the cost of shrimp food – a method that was applied in the farming of tuna.
Thailand is currently one of the major exporters of tuna.
“Tuna exports have an advantage because it is processed and canned before being exported. Also, tuna can be consumed by anyone, resulting in a very high demand for the fish,” Poj said.
