A rebound in Thailand’s tourist trade is being offset by a surge in imported salmon prices for Bangkok-based Thammachart Seafood Retail Co.
Thammachart sells a variety of premium seafood at its retail outlets, primarily located in malls across Thailand. Tourists had been major drivers of seafood consumption prior to the pandemic, with Thai resorts thronged with tourists from China, the world’s largest source of outbound tourists prior to the pandemic.
The company, which is 40 percent owned by Thai Union, struggled through the pandemic but found a lifeline via its B2C online sales. Now that the Thai government has removed all COVID-related travel restrictions and tourist numbers are up, Thammachart CEO Julian Davies said he is hoping for a return to normal business.
“Chinese tourists are trickling in, but with the country's ongoing COVID issues, I think it will take some time before numbers increase. Many hoteliers in Thailand are preparing for a surge in tourists in Q4, coinciding with the high season,” Davies told SeafoodSource. “There has been a positive upturn, and the resort areas are getting busier, but there's still a long way to go to reach the pre-pandemic levels.”
But even with COVID’s economic bite waning, Thammachart is still struggling, this time with rising fish prices.
“The main impact this year has been the increase in salmon prices, which cannot be offset by increasing retail prices, as the gain is far above inflation. Prices have recently declined, and we hope they stabilize around NOK 80 [USD 8.16, EUR 8.01] per kilogram ex-Oslo,” Davies said. “With inflationary pressure, there has been an impact on seafood purchases as consumers either trade down or trade out.”
Photo courtesy of Thammachart Seafood
