Thailand Shrimp Supply Chain

Supply Chain of Shrimp Production in Thailand

Introduction

The increased world market demand for shrimp has led many developing countries to enter this appealing market through massive use of shrimp farms which has had a significant impact on the world's mangrove forests because of over production and lack of care for the environment. Thailand has become the world's leader in shrimp exports, and in turn, the greatest violator of mangrove conservation.

The Thai shrimp farming industry started to boom in the 1980s and was subsidized by the government. Thailand quickly became an important shrimp export industry and has been the world's largest producer of tiger shrimp since 1991. Because of the financial incentives of producing shrimp from the viewpoint of a farmer are much more attractive, more and more farmers switch from growing rice to producing shrimp. In 2009 Thailand produced over 539,000 tons of shrimp. Due to this rapid expansion and the shift into shrimp farms across Thailand, mangrove ecosystems and other parts of agricultural land have been exploited of their natural resources.

The United States and Japan are the largest export markets for Thai shrimp and the demand is steadily increasing. Therefore the Thai shrimp industry has to find ways in which they can cater to the increasing demand while reducing the exploitation of their natural resources. In recent years the government stepped in and created laws to deal with shrimp farmers who damage the fragile ecosystem. Several countries also imposed import restrictions on shrimp which have been produced using shady methods. This trend in combination with the need to create a more sustainable industry has led to the introduction of several new farming methods and usage of new technologies.

In the following text we will highlight the shrimp value chain in Thailand and discuss the processes applied within this value chain.

Supply Chain Map of Shrimp Production in...