SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SCOM] — Sept. 26, 2014 — The Thai Commerce ministry is holding seminars around the country to help prepare industries for the ending of an EU tariff preference that expires at the end of 2014. The EU is no longer classifying Thailand as a developing country.
The Department studied nine industries, and found that frozen shrimp and fresh and frozen seafood products were among the least prepared to handle the change.
The reason is that Thailand's competitors on shrimp, such as Vietnam and Indonesia, will continue to enjoy a favorable EU tariff.
Overall, about $3 billion worth of Thai exports to the EU will be impacted across all products. The ministry found that Thai produced jewelry and rubber products were best positioned to remain competitive.
For the shrimp and processed food industries, the outlook seems to be to try and become more competitive in Asia, or possibly move some production to countries like Cambodia that still retain the EU tariff preference.
in 2013, Thailand exported 31,400 tons of shrimp to the EU-27, while Vietnam exported 37,700 tons, and Indonesia exported 12,100 tons. In 2015, the tariff changes will favor Vietnam and Indonesia.
This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.