Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has called for urgent bilateral discussions with Malaysia following its temporary import ban on five Thai shrimp species, warning that prolonged restrictions could disrupt prices, exports and livelihoods across the country’s seafood supply chain.
According to CNA, the directive, issued during a Cabinet meeting on June 2, comes after Malaysia imposed the ban as part of tighter food safety controls on fishery imports, triggering concern among Thai shrimp farmers and exporters over potential revenue losses and domestic oversupply.
Thai government spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek said Anutin had instructed the commerce and agriculture ministries to immediately engage Malaysian authorities to seek a negotiated resolution while safeguarding farmers’ incomes.
“If the issue is allowed to persist, it could affect farm-gate shrimp prices and the incomes of small-scale farmers,” she said.
The ban, which took effect on June 1, covers black tiger shrimp, whiteleg shrimp, banana shrimp, brown shrimp and blue shrimp, and is estimated to impact up to 8,000 tonnes of Thai shrimp exports annually to Malaysia, worth more than four billion baht (US$122.1 million).
Malaysia said the ban will remain in place until Thailand provides a formal response to regulatory concerns, with further review subject to compliance with food safety standards.
The dispute follows earlier tensions in fishery trade measures between the two countries, underscoring rising sensitivity around agricultural standards, inspections and cross-border seafood flows in the region.
