Sittipol, a party-list MP from the People’s Party, announced the Shadow Cabinet’s results, urging the Agriculture and Commerce Ministries to survey shrimp volume and prices on-site and convene the Shrimp Board to assist southern shrimp farmers before market prices are harmed.
On 15 June 2026 at the Parliament, Sittipol Wiboonthanakul, a party-list MP from the People’s Party, announced the Shadow Cabinet’s meeting results, calling on the government to expedite solutions to Malaysia’s suspension of Thai shrimp imports and to implement measures aligned with the real scale of the impact.
After the Economic Development Committee summoned the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry and the Commerce Ministry to provide situation updates and action plans, it was found that the government still assesses the impact using data that underestimates reality, causing the resulting measures to be inadequate and untimely.
Sittipol highlighted three urgent concerns the government must address. First, the number of affected parties is greatly underestimated; the Department of Fisheries estimates damage at only 300-400 tons per month, averaging 10 tons per day, projecting 4,205 tons if Malaysia’s border remains closed for 12 months. However, the private sector reports that actual figures are 5-10 times higher than government data, which is crucial for pricing since even a slight surplus in shrimp volume can drag down the entire market price.
Second, the shrimp prices referenced by the Commerce Ministry are from the central region and do not reflect the real situation in affected areas. The government reports only slight price declines, with some prices even rising, whereas private sector data indicates shrimp prices in the south have dropped by 20-50 baht per kilogram.
Third, government measures risk lagging behind the urgency of the problem because shrimp on farms have only 10-15 days left before spoilage. The Commerce Ministry’s immediate measure to release stock within the country will start only at the end of June and can handle just 400 tons, which is too late and too little. Meanwhile, the Agriculture Ministry’s measures mostly consist of routine actions for normal conditions, such as supporting solar panel installation, increasing beneficial microbes, and developing low-carbon shrimp farming systems, rather than emergency responses.
Sittipol called on the Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives to urgently take three actions: first, convene the Shrimp Board to approve a real shrimp price support of 20 baht per kilogram; second, quickly survey actual field data to assist those affected; and third, expedite negotiations to reopen import borders. He also urged the Minister of Commerce to secure funding for the already announced product release project, which has been delayed, and to expand product distribution volume to match actual production and the challenges farmers are facing.