fishmeal.org / Origins / Thailand
Origins · O5
Thailand
A by-product economy in transition.
Thailand built its fishmeal industry on "trash fish" — low-value catch landed alongside food fish — and on the trimmings of a large seafood-processing sector feeding the shrimp farms of the Gulf and Andaman coasts. Output has run down as that model changed: from around 500,000 tonnes a year historically to roughly 270,000 tonnes by 2017.[1]
Anchor figures — historically ~500,000 t/yr; by 2017, ~270,000 t.[1]
The trimmings model
The decline in trash-fish landings pushed Thai producers toward the by-product stream — a smaller, steadier base that pairs naturally with regional shrimp-feed demand. By-product meal carries more ash and less protein than whole-fish meal, and Thai output prices as such: a regional ingredient rather than a global benchmark.
Sources
- Just Seafood — political economy of Thai fishmeal (academic) — www.justseafood.org/from-trash-fish-to-fishmeal-production-in-thailand-h (accessed 2026-10-24)