Thailand has sufficient seafood supply

BANGKOK, July 4 (TNA) - The Ministry of Commerce says that Thailand has sufficient seafood supply, as seafood products stored in cold storages nationwide can meet market demand for the next 1-2 months. Duangkamol Jiambutr, an inspector general of the Ministry of Commerce, made the assurance on Saturday (Jul 4), after inspecting prices of consumer products, especially seafood, at the Nong Chok Market on Bangkok outskirts, where she found that seafood products, including fish, squid and shrimp, remain sufficient with stable prices. Duangkamol said thousands of trawlers which operate in deep sea have continued their businesses without any problem, but only those small ones which fish near the shore and do not have proper licences need to resolve their problems. Most local trawlers have stopped fishing since earlier this week, after the government has imposed a new, stiffer law, requiring fishing trawlers to properly have fishing licences. The government also wants the owners to register their fishing boats, install fishing gear matching equipment they registered with and install a vessel monitoring system on fishing boats as required by the new law. Meanwhile, Thai Commerce Minister General Chatchai Sarikulya has ordered his ministry's officials to check on prices of seafood to ensure that they remain reasonable. (TNA)