The Ministry of Fisheries of Thailand recently issued a new notice on the import procedures of aquatic products, entitled "Regulations, Methods and Conditions for the application of import Licenses for Aquatic Animals or Aquatic Animal products", which amends part of the existing procedures and aims to tighten and strengthen the import procedures of aquatic products, effective from May 7.

Earlier, some in the Thai fisheries industry said that the surplus of imported seafood has caused the price of domestic seafood to fall, thus losing competitiveness.

The changes in the new regulations mainly include:

1. imported mixed aquatic products, such as packaged products made from a variety of aquatic products, must have a packing list, listing all the ingredients of the detailed information, including aquatic species, dosage, etc.;

2. The importer must store the goods in a place designated by the government or in a logistics center so that customs officers can inspect them at any time;

3. Non-thai fishing vessels must indicate their entry application and number in the import documents;

4. Thai officials will designate specific officials to conduct product inspections, involving all aquatic products trade processes and procedures for compliance.