Bangkok--19 Jan--Thai Union Frozen Products
Thai Union Frozen Products PCL (TUF), the parent company of Thai Union Group, is excited to announce that it has become Thailand’s first shrimp producer to achieve Aquaculture Certification Council (ACC)’s three-star certification, ensuring that its shrimp business unit’s operations meet a stringent set of social, environmental, and food safety standards, from hatchery, to farms, to processing plants — the three types of facility which are represented by the three stars. ACC is an independent and non-governmental US body to certify and promote best aquaculture practices.
The shrimp hatchery operated by Thai Union Hatchery, in Pang-Nga Province, obtained ACC’s Best Aquaculture Practice (BAP) certification in September 2008, joining the rank of Thai Union Group’s other ACC-certified facilities which include several alliance farms and contract farms, as well as shrimp processing plants operated by Thai Union Frozen Products Public Co., Ltd., in Samut Sakhon Province, and by the group’s subsidiary Thai Union Seafood, in Songkhla Province.
For a facility to be certified, it needs to comply with BAP standards on community rights, compliance with all relevant regulations, worker safety and employee relations, effluent management, responsible use of chemicals and fuels, and responsible management of waste. Shrimp farms cannot be located in mangrove or other ecologically sensitive areas. Increasingly, customers are recognizing the values of ACC certification as a means to assure that they are buying from environmentally- and socially-conscious suppliers. This achievement will no double secure customers’ confidence in our seafood products. This is also a testament to the work that Thai Union Group has done, both internally and with outside stakeholders, in making sure its high quality shrimp products are produced under environmentally and socially responsible conditions. It is believed that only ten business groups in the world have managed to achieve three-star certification so far.
Mr. Rittirong Boonmechote, TUF’s managing director (shrimp business), said “Today’s consumers are not just interested in a product’s safety and quality, but also the environmental and social impacts of its production process from raw materials to finished goods. Therefore we have actively and continually examined all aspects of its operations and we have developed a comprehensive set of social, labor, and environmental policies. We have also been working closely with our subsidiary hatchery and alliance and contract farms to help them continually improve environmental and social performance.”
Beyond addressing environmental and social impacts from its core business activities, Thai Union Group has been very active in propelling sustainable social development and environmental and natural resource preservation programs.
Mr. Boonmechote explained, “As a leading producer of seafood products, Thai Union Group is keenly aware of the importance of marine and coastal resources. The larger our businesses grow, the more we have to give back to the sea.”
Thai Union Group has embarked on an ambitious 1-million mangrove tree planting project to restore Thailand’s mangrove forests along the coastline of the upper Gulf of Thailand in cooperation with Mangrove Forest Resources Development Station 6 (Phetchaburi).
He added, “A healthy mangrove ecosystem provides sustainable benefits to nature and to local communities surrounding it. Twice a year every year, our employees and their families, as well as many of our clients, joined hands to help plant mangrove saplings in suitable locations selected by forestry experts. Other organizations are also using the saplings we provided to expand mangrove forests in other areas.”
Another example of natural resource restoration project is the community crab bank which allows the members to “deposit” egg-carrying female crabs they caught and “withdraw” them back for sale when the eggs are released. This helps ensure the sustainability of crab harvest in the area.
“After gaining ACC’s three-star certification, TUF and Thai Union Group as a whole are looking forward to working harder to make our operations even more environmentally friendly and socially beneficial, as well as contributing more to society and to nature. We are glad that many of our customers and business partners world-wide appreciate what we are doing in these areas, and we hope to be doing more and doing better,” Mr. Boonmechote commented.
On another front, he stressed that the current global economic crisis has only caused minimal adverse effects on TUF’s shrimp business so far, thanks to a solid customer base. Despite this, the group has been closely monitoring the market situation. In 2009, TUF is going to carry out a proactive marketing approach to maintain our existing customers as well as gaining new ones in new markets. It is evident that there are still plenty of emerging markets with potential for further expansion. This strategy strives to offset any potential adverse effects as a result of the economic setback experienced in those major markets.
“During the first 9-month of 2008, our shrimp business managed to report 29% of growth in sales in US dollar term from the same period in 2007. Shrimp products accounted for 19% of the group’s total sales. During the period, we have made continual improvements and several expansion efforts in our shrimp business which covers processing plants, hatchery facilities and shrimp feed mills with an objective to gain further competitiveness in the industry. Our shrimp product offerings are quite diversified. Therefore we can serve a variety of customers’ needs in different markets. We remain confident that our shrimp business would continue to grow this year,” Mr. Rittirong concluded.
For more information please contact:
Corporate Communications Department
Thai Union Frozen Products PCL.
Tel. 022-980024 ext. 675 — 678
www.thaiuniongroup.com