Southeast Asian Seafood Exporters
Unite to Form Umbrella Federation

Leaders of six seafood associations and fishery product export groups sign a memorandum of understanding in Bangkok to create the ASEAN Seafood Federation.

Among VIPs kicking off the Thaifex show are (seen second from left, left to right) Siripol Yodmuangcharoen, Permanent Secretary to Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce; Dusit Nontanakorn, chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce; Michael Dryer, vice president of Koelnmesse Asia Pacific operations; and Rachane Potjanmasuntorn, director-general of the Department of Export Promotion.

Seafood export industry groups from six southeast Asian nations have agreed on the framework for creation of an ASEAN Seafood Federation (ASF) to jointly promote their export trade.

The goal is to improve cooperation among regional seafood processors and exporters – which are said to supply up to 50% of the world’s shrimp products – according to Poj Aramwattananont, honorary adviser to the Thai Frozen Food Association.

The agreement was signed May 12, after having been hammered out at the Thaifex World of Food Asia show in Bangkok. Industry groups from four other member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations had earlier signed a memorandum of understanding, but apparently balked at the final document.

“The ASEAN Seafood Federation’s aim is to promote closer cooperation among its members in the seafood industry as well as to establish a forum for members to freely and openly exchange views on matters of mutual interest,” said a spokesperson representing the Myanmar Fishery Products Processors & Exporters Association (MPEA).

The founding of the federation is also part of a larger goal to integrate the ASEAN region’s national economies and achieve higher levels of economic dynamism, as espoused in the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint.

“There are many problems appearing in the food industry around the world, and Western countries are only accepting products from ASEAN countries that meet approved standards. Through the ASF there should be closer cooperation within ASEAN countries that can raise the standard of products from the region,” the MPEA spokesperson said.

Signing on were representatives from the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar. Under the framework, Vietnam will be responsible for cooperation on production and technology, Thailand for food safety assurance and marketing, and Myanmar for cooperation on securing production inputs, while Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia are to handle logistics.

Other areas for cooperation include quality standardization, inspection and certification, labeling and packaging and investment in ASEAN. Under the new federation framework, members would also share trade and market information, as well as the latest processing technologies.

Poj stressed the advantages of specialization: “We would help support one another rather than compete. For instance, Indonesia, which is good at marine capture, would be directed to help take care of raw material supply, while Thailand, which is famous for food standards, would handle marketing and technology.”

Founding members of the ASF are the Fresh and Frozen Seafood Association of the Philippines, Malaysian Frozen Food Processors Association, Myanmar Fishery Products Processors & Exporters Association, Indonesia Frozen Seafood Association, the Thai Frozen Food Association, and the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers. Related food associations endorsed by the founding members will be regular members.

At a seafood forum in Bangkok during Thaifex, participants said that Thai food exports were unlikely to be hit as hard as the automotive industry by the current economic recession affecting much of the industrialized world. Food exports this year are expected to be worth 720 billion baht, down from 778 billion in 2008, due mainly to shrinking global demand and fiercer competition, said Paiboon Ponsuwanna, chairman of the Food Industry Club of the Federation of Thai Industries.

The economic downturn did not seem to hurt attendance at the sixth running of Thaifex either, as the visitor count of 10,231 was up almost 40% over last year’s total. The May 13-17 event featured 998 exhibitors from 21 countries and regions.

The number of exhibitors showcasing seafood products increased by 40%, according Koelnmesse Pte Ltd, which organized the fair in cooperation with the Department of Export Promotion (DEP) and the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC). Representation from frozen food companies was in high profile, as members of the Thai Frozen Food Association occupied 1,944 square meters of space.