Thai aquaculture expected to stay soft in 2020

THAILAND'S aquaculture producers could continue to face softness into 2020, as commodity prices stay flattish, a recent report has predicted.

Although tuna prices are expected to return to between US$1,400 and US$1,500 per tonne in 2020, after a sharp year-on-year drop amid high supply in 2019, the rebound is expected to come on the back of temporary fishery shutdowns when prices fall to about US$1,000 a tonne.

Meanwhile, average shrimp prices have come down year on year on supply from neighbouring countries, and could stay flat in 2020 on higher output from markets such as Vietnam, according to UOB Kay Hian analyst Thunya Sutavepramochanon.