Thai Frozen Shrimp Exports Soar

Thai frozen shrimp exports have increased to the extent that they now command 40% of the international shrimp sales market. Due to a lack of supply world-wide caused by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster, a cold spell in Chinese shrimp farm territories, a shrimp virus in Brazil and Indonesia, and a bumper crop for Thai shrimp farmers, shrimp exports from Thailand are expected to jump an additional eight percent. Salt water shrimp harvested of the coasts of Pattaya and Phuket and freshwater farms inland combine to assure a plentiful supply of shrimp domestically and for export yielding much needed foreign cash.

Shrimp farms in Indonesia and Brazil have been hit by the myonecrosis virus while the US is expecting significantly lower catches due to the massive oil spill in the formerly shrimp fertile Gulf of Mexico.

Panisuan Jamnarwej, President of the Thai Frozen Foods Association, said frozen shrimp exports were promising this year given the higher purchase order in the first quarter and more recent factors. In the first three months of 2010, Thailand exported US$587 million worth of frozen shrimp, up 34%year-on-year.

Now, with an additional 20% demand from the US due to lack of domestic and alternative foreign supply, Thailand shrimp exports have soared beyond anyone’s expectations at a time when Thailand sorely needs a break its way.

Thailand is expected to produce between 570,000 and 580,000 tons of frozen shrimp this year, with exports expected to increase an additional eight percent year-on-year to 350,000 tons.

The virus which hit shrimp farms in Indonesia is expected to cause a 20 to 30 percent drop in exports there, from 250,000 tons per year to 160,000 tons. Brazil, which exports 50,000 tons of frozen shrimp a year, is expected to face a similar situation. Thailand, however, has done a magnificent job retraining former rice farmers in the rural northeast to become successful freshwater shrimp farmers and yields are at an all-time high.