61
SEP2017 FOOD FOCUS THAILAND
SPECIAL
REPORT
Additional Information
1
Seafood species thatmay violate IUUFishingRegulationareAtlanticcod,
bluecrab (Atlantic), white snapper, grouper, kingcrab (red), Pacificcod,
red snapper, seacucumber, shark, swordfishand tuna.
Looking ahead, Thai fishery product
producers may be penalized by
additionalmeasures tobeannounced
by the US to prevent IUU fishing, and
seafood fraud, which is scheduled to
become effective in January 2018. To
complywith this regulation,importersof
some typesofmarineproductssourced
fromUSandnon-US territorialwatersare
requiredtoadoptatraceabilityprogram.
TheUSDepartment of Statemaintained
Thailand’sTier 2WatchList placement in
their 2017 Trafficking in Persons (TIP)
Report released on June 27
th
because
findings showed that Thailand hadmade
little progress in addressing labor issues
in the fishery industry.
In addition, Thai fishery operators must attach
importance to rawmaterial supplies, for instance,
shrimp must come from clean and safe farms to
preventEMSoutbreaks,whichhavebeenresponsible
for thesharpdecline inour shrimpproductionsince
late 2012. Since then, Thailand has lost our status
as the world’s largest shrimp exporting nation to
India,whileEcuadorand Indonesiahavedeveloped
their shrimp farming to the extent that their shrimp
outputs are now greater thanThailand’s. For tuna,
to cope with common supply shortages, Thai
processors should seek new supply sources by
establishingpartnershipswithfisherycompanies in
Indonesia and the Philippines, or investing in
countrieswith abundant tuna resources.
Another challenge will be President Trump’s trade policy, aimed at addressing US
trade deficits. This will likely be implemented via import tariff hikes and the setting of
quotas on imports from countries theUS has sustained trade deficitswith. Preliminary,
KResearch isof theview that the impactofsuchmeasuresonThai fisheryproductexports
will beminimal becausemost standing purchase orders had been agreed to. If theUS
implements thesemeasures, it is expected that their impacts will be apparent in 2018.
However, demand forThai fisheryproducts in theUSwill continue tosupportThai fishery
product exports, going forward. In the long-term, Thailand’s fisheryexport incomemight
be threatened if more countries erect trade barriers and/or other measures threatening
global trade.But,Thai fisheryproduct exportersmayavoid that problembyallowing their
subsidiaries abroad to assumeproductionand export on their behalf.
