The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives expects the export of five species of shrimp to Malaysia to resume at the end of July, after a final assessment of the safety standards of the Thai shrimp and the production process by a Malaysian inspection team between July 21 and 23.
A similar assessment will also be conducted by a Thai team in Malaysia on sea bass to be exported to Thailand via land border crossings.
The ministry has attributed the successful resolution of the trade conflict to the efforts of the Thai Fisheries Department and its counterpart in Malaysia.
Regarding concerns of Thai sea bass farmers, about the smuggling and import of substandard sea bass from Malaysia, the ministry has offered an assurance that Thailand has adopted stringent quality controls on fish imports and says that importers of substandard fish and other aquatic species will face legal action and be banned from importing again if convicted.
Agriculture Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit visited Malaysia on June 17 for talks with his Malaysian counterpart over resolving the shrimp-seabass trade dispute.
Malaysia suspended imports of shrimp from Thailand on June 1, claiming that they pose a health risk. The ban was apparently a retaliatory move after complaints from Malaysian companies that Thailand’s document checks on Malaysia’s seabass exports take too long.
