Louis Harkell: UndercurrentNews

With 38 million tourist visits to Thailand in 2018 — a new record — more Thai shrimp is being consumed domestically, according to frozen seafood sourcing and exporting firm Siam Canadian Group.

About 15% of estimated annual Thai production of 270,000-300,000 metric tons, or 40,000-45,000t, is today consumed in the country, according to Satasap Viriyanantawanit, general manager of the firm. This is up from 5% back when Thailand was producing 600,000t, he said, meaning growth of 15,000t in around five years.

Thai people don’t eat shrimp much,” Viriyanantawanit told Undercurrent News. “But when you talk to tourists, for them visiting a seafood restaurant is a must. So domestic consumption is booming because of tourists.”

According to Thailand’s National Economic and Social Development Council, in 2018, 10.5m visits were by tourists from China, or 28%.

This is up from almost no Chinese tourists at the start of the millennium.