Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CPF), Thailand’s largest agribusiness conglomerate, will lay off 1,196 laborers from Myanmar subcontracted to work at its shrimp packing plant in Samut Sakhon’s Muang district, according to a report in the Bangkok Post. The reason was attributed to a shortage of raw material to process due to the impact of early mortality syndrome (EMS), a disease that has significantly reduced farm-raised shrimp survival rates.
CPF will pay the workers 50 million baht in compensation, which amounts to approximately 75% of the wages they would have earned had the factory remained open, according to the Bangkok Post story.
“The company has set the benchmark by showing responsibility and paying compensation on behalf of the subcontractor, which could not afford to do so,” said Panich Chitchang, director general of the Labor Protection and Welfare Department.
Meanwhile, as CPF focuses more on other areas of the food business, it hopes to increase overall sales by 10% this year. Exports, which account for approximately two-thirds of revenues, are being relied upon to spearhead the drive.
According to Adirek Sripratak, ceo of CPF, the company missed its target of 15% sales growth in 2013 largely because of the EMS problem, which significantly cut the volume of shrimp output. Higher production costs for animal feed also had a major impact on bottom line results.
Increased exports of poultry, much of it in frozen form, are expected this year. Shipments to Japan alone during the first quarter of 2014 topped 5,000 tons.
