Aquaculture for all

Spain Starts Halt on Charoen Pokphand Foods Shrimp

Crustaceans Tuna Sustainability +8 more

SPAIN - Spain has begun to impose an import ban on all frozen shrimp and seafood products from Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF) and a Spanish industry group has called for the removal of Thai canned tuna from the European Union's proposed free-trade agreement with the country after allegations of slave labour in the Thai fishing industry.

Lucy Towers thumbnail

Tritaporn Khomapat, director of the Office of Agricultural Affairs in Brussels, Belgium, notified Niwat Sutemechaikul, director-general of the Thai Fisheries Department, that many supermarkets in Europe, as well as the United States, had stopped stocking CPF's frozen shrimp and other seafood products, reports TheNation.

Some of the big European chains turning away CPF's products are France's Carrefour, Germany's Aldi, Belgium's Delhaize and Colruyt, Spain's Mercadona, and Norway's ICA. In the US, Walmart and Costco have done the same.

The Thai ambassador in Madrid reported that Spain's Alcampo supermarket, an affiliate of France's Auchan, had stopped placing orders for all products from CPF.

However, UK-based Tesco, which has not halted purchases of CPF products, will send a team to Thailand to inspect CPF's production process and visit agencies, such as the Fisheries Department, CPF's representative office in Madrid said.

Create an account now to keep reading

It'll only take a second and we'll take you right back to what you were reading. The best part? It's free.

Already have an account? Sign in here