Thailand’s seafood industry remains haunted by child labour allegations, as Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CPF), Thailand’s largest food exporter, has been accused of buying fishmeal from companies that “own, operate or buy” from vessels employing slave labour.
A report published by British newspaper The Guardian based on a six-month investigation found workers were reportedly kept in horrific conditions, tortured and executed. The fishmeal is fed to prawns on CPF farms and the products are sold to supermarkets including Wal-Mart, Tesco, Costco and Carrefour.
In Britain, Morrisons, the Co-operative and Aldi all sell CPF shrimp products, along with Aldi in Iceland.
According to the report, Thai fishing boat workers described 20-hour work days, low salaries, forced detention and physical abuse both at port and on the vessels.
This is not the first news of slave labour in the Thai fishing industry, which employs up to 300,000 people and exports about 56,000 tonnes of prawns annually, it said.
More than 90% of the workers in the fishing industry are migrants, according to The Guardian.
In the wake of the report, retail giant Wal-Mart and warehouse membership club leader Costco yesterday said they were taking action in response to a news investigation that found evidence of forced labour in their Thailand-area seafood supply chains.
CPF in Thailand has not taken any action, releasing a statement that the group believes from factory to fishing boat each and every CPF employee, CPF supplier or part of CPF’s supply chain must, at an absolute minimum, be treated fairly and with dignity at all times.
“We are currently in the process of auditing our entire operation so that we can denounce slavery throughout our supply chain” and “put in place an independent spot check coordinated system for ensuring our supply chain is and continues to be slavery-free”, said the statement.
As one of the largest purchasers of fishmeal in Thailand and a leading manufacturer in the region, the company is committed to tightening the control of its fishmeal procurement to clamp down on illegal, unregulated and uncertified fishing, improving fishing practices in Thailand for generations to come, said CPF.
CPF defended it use of fishmeal as a minor component (about 10% of the ingredients) in its production of fish feed for prawns at its five aquaculture feed mills at Ban Bung, Mahachai, Nong Khae, Ban Prue and Nam Noi. Each one is fully certified in Best Aquaculture Practices, it said.