Export of Thai lobsters to China soars to half a billion baht

BANGKOK: China’s ban on lobsters from Australia has pushed Thailand’s crustaceans into seventh place as an exporter of lobsters, earning US$14.1 million or around 500 million baht in 2023, 160 times the tally in 2019 at only US$88,123 or around 3 million baht.

South China Morning Post reported on Wednesday (Jan 24) that due to the ban on Australian lobsters that was imposed three-and-a-half years ago, China’s import of lobsters from Southeast Asian countries namely Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam had doubled since 2019, and now accounted for 6.8% of the Chinese market share.