Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and members of his cabinet visited one of Thai Union Group seafood processing plants in Samut Sakhon’s Mahachai district, during the government’s mobile cabinet meeting in Samut Sakhon and Petchburi.
During the tour, Thai Union’s top management team, led by Chairman Kraisorn Chansiri, CEO Thiraphong Chansiri and Rittirong Boonmechote, president for global frozen, welcomed Prayut and the other ministers, including Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak, Deputy Prime Minister Chatchai Sarikulya, Interior Minister Anupong Paochinda and Kobsak Pootrakool, Minister of the PM Office.
Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha talks with Thai Union workers during a tour of the company’s seafood processing plant in Samut Sakhon.Thai Union executives briefed the mobile cabinet about the company’s business, in addition to providing an overview of the Thai seafood industry. After the meeting, the Prime Minister and members of the cabinet inspected production lines and talked to factory workers.
The objective of the mobile cabinet meeting was to obtain a better understanding of development in the two provinces. Samut Sakhon has strong potential to become the country’s seafood hub due to robust fishery products and aquaculture sector manufacturing and distribution activities in the region that serve both domestic and export markets.
Bangkok-headquartered Thai Union plays a big role in driving the Thai seafood industry. With a base in Samut Sakhon established for more than 40 years, its factories in Mahachai district employ over 10,000 Thai and migrant workers.
The company is a major packer of frozen shrimp products and is regarded as the world’s largest producer of shelf-stable tuna products, with annual sales exceeding THB 135 billion (US $4.030 billion) and a global workforce of over 49,000 people.
Thai Union’s global brand portfolio includes Chicken of the Sea, John West, Petit Navire, Parmentier, Mareblu, King Oscar and Rügen Fisch. Brands popular in Thailand include SEALECT, Fisho, Qfresh, Monori, Bellotta and Marvo.
Demonstration Boat Launch
Meanwhile, in other news, Nestlé S.A. and Thai Union recently inaugurated a demonstration boat to promote and raise understanding of human and labor rights of workers in the Thai fishing industry.
Both companies, in collaboration with Vérité, refurbished a traditional Thai fishing boat, transforming it into a vessel demonstrating good living and working conditions. This includes adequate and clean food and drinking water, appropriate on-board rest, dining and leisure areas, first-aid kits, and toilet facilities with proper sanitation standards.
Since the launch, 83 boat owners, captains and crews have taken part in training sessions in Thailand’s provinces of Trat and Pattani. The initiative is supported by the Thai Ministry of Foreign affairs the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center and the Thailand Department of Fisheries.
“The program is in line with Nestlé’s Action Plan for Responsible Sourcing of Seafood, which we introduced in 2015. So far we have been able to achieve 99% traceability for wild-caught tuna back to the vessel used, and 99% of the farmed shrimp to the farms used. The business requirement of our Action Plan is signed off by 100% of our suppliers’ suppliers,” said Magdi Batato, executive vice president and head of operations at Vevey, Switzerland-headquartered Nestlé S.A.
Dr. Batato added: “We have also banned trans-shipment at sea and have implemented an Inclusive Labor Monitoring system that covers over 35,000 workers in Nestlé’s supply chain, together with not-for-profit Issara.”
