Thai Exports

Total Thai exports of canned tuna products

Thailand has been the top supplier of canned tuna since 1985, and has been able to maintain its position mainly due to the industry's efforts to improve quality by introducing new production technology, upgrading facilities, improving quality control and increasing productivity. The main importers are the US, the EU and Japan.

In 2002, total Thai canned tuna exports stood at 272,441 tons, up 1 percent from 269,696 tons in 2001 but down 4.53 percent in terms of value to 24,545 million baht.

The US is the biggest importer of Thai canned tuna. In 2002, total US imports stood at 59,757 tons, accounting for 22 percent of the total Thai canned tuna export value at 5,929 million baht, down 1.76 percent in terms of quantity and 15.5 percent in terms of value compared with 2001.

Table 21 Total Thai canned tuna exports, 2000-2002

Unit : Qty= tons , Value = million baht

Months	2,000		2001		2002		Difference (%)
	qty	value	qty	value	qty	value	qty	value
Jan	18,305.36	1,338.88	19,471.21	1,550.72	17,615.89	1,652.43	-9.53	6.56
Feb	19,417.60	1,462.23	21,246.94	1,718.63	21,249.06	2,053.00	0.01	19.46
Mar	19,130.87	1,510.88	21,511.43	1,828.44	22,768.99	2,091.08	5.85	14.36
Quarter 1	56,853.83	4,311.99	62,229.58	5,097.79	61,633.94	5,796.51	-0.96	13.71
Apr	19,988.36	1,568.64	19,809.73	1,855.39	18,655.27	1,719.67	-5.83	-7.31
May	13,546.30	1,078.36	20,942.50	2,228.36	19,757.18	1,781.50	-5.66	-20.05
Jun	20,265.11	1,469.19	20,359.74	2,147.86	23,109.36	2,109.18	13.51	-1.80
Quarter 2	53,799.77	4,116.19	61,111.97	6,231.61	61,521.81	5,610.35	0.67	-9.97
Jul	20,935.10	1,521.28	21,188.77	2,239.66	23,725.43	2,088.72	11.97	-6.74
Aug	21,446.69	1,633.83	25,337.69	2,510.53	20,763.93	1,807.16	-18.05	-28.02
Sep	21,592.72	1,604.84	23,822.23	2,301.74	21,677.06	1,967.10	-9.00	-14.54
Quarter 3	63,974.51	4,759.95	70,348.69	7,051.93	66,166.42	5,862.98	-5.95	-16.86
Oct	23,951.00	1,876.74	27,422.10	2,615.36	27,079.82	2,343.21	-1.25	-10.41
Nov	22,729.91	1,899.87	29,539.00	2,885.71	33,227.44	2,929.34	12.49	1.51
Dec	22,416.60	1,734.24	19,044.85	1,828.21	22,811.83	2,003.06	19.78	9.56
Quarter 4	69,097.51	5,510.85	76,005.95	7,329.28	83,119.09	7,275.61	9.36	-0.73
total	243,725.62	18,698.98	269,696.19	25,710.61	272,441.26	24,545.45	1.02	-4.53

Source: Thai Customs Department



Total Thai exports of frozen tuna loin

In contrast to canned tuna, total Thai frozen tuna loin exports have been increasing year on year. In 2002, total frozen tuna loin exports rose 86.5 percent from 2001 to 52,000 tons. Total value stood at 5,453 million baht, up 58.5 percent from 2001.

Table 22 Total Thai frozen tuna loin exports, 2000-2002

Unit : Qty= tons , Value = million baht

Months	2000		2001		2002		Difference (%)
	qty	value	qty	value	qty	value	qty	value
Jan	3,079.84	229.55	2,022.00	169.30	4,337.00	462.06	114.49	172.92
Feb	2,894.00	207.66	1,955.00	166.38	4,225.00	458.88	116.11	175.80
Mar	2,329.00	207.64	2,227.00	228.02	4,737.00	496.16	112.71	117.59
quarter 1	8,302.84	644.85	6,204.00	563.70	13,299.00	1,417.10	114.36	151.39
Apr	1,154.00	111.70	1,333.00	171.28	2,292.00	233.39	71.94	36.26
May	1,634.00	146.42	2,067.00	308.54	5,171.00	531.80	150.17	72.36
Jun	1,640.00	144.68	2,414.00	341.55	4,339.00	451.23	79.74	32.11
quarter 2	4,428.00	402.80	5,814.00	821.37	11,802.00	1,216.42	102.99	48.10
Jul	1,062.00	94.11	2,092.00	288.01	5,093.00	490.23	143.45	70.21
Aug	1,559.00	136.90	2,568.00	338.66	3,570.00	351.86	39.02	3.90
Sep	1,497.00	114.50	3,274.00	400.70	3,711.00	393.42	13.35	-1.82
quarter 3	4,118.00	345.51	7,934.00	1,027.37	12,374.00	1,235.51	55.96	20.26
Oct	1,636.00	140.97	2,423.00	286.28	5,120.00	546.54	111.31	90.91
Nov	1,782.00	162.06	2,924.00	347.88	5,381.00	604.84	84.03	73.86
Dec	1,762.00	177.81	2,591.00	394.58	4,024.00	433.14	55.31	9.77
quarter 4	5,180.00	480.84	7,938.00	1,028.74	14,525.00	1,584.52	82.98	54.03
total	22,028.84	1,874.00	27,890.00	3,441.18	52,000.00	5,453.55	86.45	58.48