Thailand sustains $500 million in damage to shrimp industry

The deadly tsunami that struck southern Thailand two weeks ago has caused $500 million worth of damage to the country's shrimp industry, killing more than 100 hatchery workers in coastal towns, officials said.

Thailand is among the world's top four shrimp exporters, shiping about 250,000 metric tons annually. The Dec. 26 tsunami leveled farming building and washed away equipment and shrimp raised in hundreds of seaside manmade saltwater lagoons.

"More than 100 workers were killed, and about 1 billion baht (US $25 million) worth of property was damaged. About 30 percent of the breeding stock and hatchery industry was destroyed," Somsak Paneetassayasai, president of the Shrimp Industry Association said. "The total losses were about $500 million."

The tsunami struck Thailand along the Andaman Sea coast provinces of Ranong, Phang Nga, Krabi, Phuket and Trang.

The shrimp industry will take at least six months to acquire new breeders and restore the hatcheries. The damage will cause Thai shrimp exports to plummet by 75,000 to 80,000 metric tons this year, Somsak said.

About 300,000 shrimp workers will lose their jobs because of the tsunami, he said. The industry normally employs 1 million people.

Government effort to regain the General System of Preference (GSP) - a set of trade rule that provide duty-free or reduced-duty access to foreign markets - from European nations will provide long-term assistance to the shrimp industry, but it also needs immediate assistance in the form of soft loans to cover their losses, Somsak said.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told EU delegates last week Thailand does not need financial assistance from foreign countries, but asked the EU to grant GSP to Thailand instead.

"The GSP will help farmersin the long run because the EU currently consumes about 700,000 of shrimp annually, but they import only 5,000 tons from Thailand," Thaksin, said.

Associated Press.