BANGKOK, Dec 24 (TNA) – The Department of Fisheries is waiting for an official document from the Lao government on the report that Laos is banning Thai seafood on fear of COVID-19 contamination.
Wichan Ingsrisawang, deputy director-general of the department, said the department was waiting for an official letter from Laos in response to social media reports that Laos was banning all fresh and frozen Thai seafood products on concerns about the COVID-19 outbreak from the Thai province of Samut Sakhon, the epicenter of the latest COVID-19 outbreak and seafood hub of the country.
Somjid Intamid, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of Laos, wrote to the Tax Department and the Food and Drug Administration of Laos to inform them of the temporary ban on fresh and frozen seafood from Thailand.
The ban will continue until Lao and Thai officials jointly guarantee that Thai seafood is free of COVID-19 contamination.
Mr Wichan said he was waiting for an official letter on the issue from the Ministry of Industry and Trade or from the Thai Office of Commercial Affairs in Laos.
After receiving the document, the Department of Fisheries would immediately try to convince Lao authorities that Thai aquatic animal products were safe thanks to hygienic standards imposed strictly on shrimp farms, shrimp-processing plants and fishing crew members.
Somdet Susomboon, director-general of the Thai Department of International Trade Promotion, said many Thai agencies prepared information to confirm the safety of Thai seafood with Laos and the information included academic studies showing that COVID-19 was not transmitted from humans to animals.
Laos imported Thai seafood worth 100-120 million baht annually, he said. (TNA)
