Bunjonk Nissapawanich, president of the Thai Eastern Shrimp Association, said the continuous decline in shrimp prices has hurt Thai farmers while benefiting Vietnamese shrimp exports.

Thai Frozen Foods Association statistics show 2,860 tons of shrimp from Thailand - fresh, chilled, frozen and prepared items - were exported to Vietnam in the first four months of 2012, up by 302% year-on-year.

They were valued at 681 million baht, up by 372%.

Mr. Bunjonk attributed the growth to low shrimp prices, which have been falling continuously from 166 baht or 50 heads a kilogram early this year to an average of 133 baht in April and 122 baht this month, year-on-year drops of 19% and 26%, respectively.

Shrimp is an export-oriented industry, as 90% of the 600,000 tons produced annually are shipped abroad.

The US, the biggest market for Thai shrimp, imported 29,426 tons from Thailand in the first four months, down by 31% year-on-year, worth 8.5 billion baht, down by 27%.

Shipments to Europe totaled 14,191 tons, down by 12.3% year-on-year, worth 4 billion baht, down by 0.87%.

He did not provide figures, but the Vietnam Daily Magazine reported Vietnamese shrimp exports to Japan, the country's main market, increased by 12% year-on-year in January and February.

Vietnamese shrimp exporters garnered US$600 million from the Japanese market last year, 25.3% of their export revenue.

Source: The Bangkok Post