Shrimp exports withstand worldwide downturn

       Thailand's shrimp industry remains in good shape despite the global downturn,with exports expected to grow both in volume and value this year.
       Local shrimp production is projected to increase by 5% this year to 520,000 tonnes, with exports also up 5% to between 380,000 and 390,000 tonnes, said Somsak Paneetatyasai, president of the Thai Shrimp Association.
       "Thailand's shrimp industry has been left unscathed by the global economic crisis, even though about 90% of production relies on exports," said Mr Somsak.
       "Earlier in the year, we planned to cut local production by 20% to only 396,000 tonnes to cope with expected shrinking demand due to the world crisis,but until now the world's shrimp consumption has remained strong."
       Shrimp exports are expected to earn Thailand about 89.25 billion baht this year, up 5% from 85 billion baht last year, said Mr Somsak. The United States is expected to remain the largest export market, accounting for about 50-55% of exports followed by Japan and Europe,which would each claim about 10-15%.
       Strong shrimp exports are attributed mainly to the efficiency and quality of Thailand's shrimp production. Shrimp is the only agricultural product to record export growth in the first eight months of this year, with frozen and processed shipments up 6.5% to $1.53 billion.
       To ensure sustainable export growth,the government is being urged to help address the industry's challenges, particularly trade barriers such as current anti-dumping measures by the US government targeting Thai shrimp and allegations by the US about child labour,said Mr Somsak.
       "The government should continue negotiating with US counterparts to remove Thai shrimp from anti-dumping,while it's imperative for authorities to accelerate clearing the US accusations over the child-labour issues, as this may affect the sentiment of US consumers,"he said.
       The government is also being asked to manage baht exchange rate to improve exports, and to open new markets for shrimp exports to diversify risk.
       Pinyo Kiatpinyo, president of the Federation of Shrimp Farmers Co-operatives of Thailand, also urged the government to ensure fair competition between smallscale and larger farmers and to develop a shrimp fund to improve access to finance by small and medium-scale farmers.
       Currently, Thailand has about 22,000 shrimpers with 110,000 shrimp ponds covering 480,000 rai. Their production last year was 495,000 tonnes of shrimp.