World Food Policy Volume/Issue 2-2/3-1 Fall 2015/Spring 2016 | Page 39

World Food Policy

Seafood sold to consumers by the Shop

were sourced3. Worth highlighting, over
92 percent of seafood sourced through
the Shop was done directly with fishers
rather than though a MP: this enables the
Shop to build a relationship directly with
fishers and ensures that fishers receive a
price premium for their seafood. While
the average price per kilogram of seafood
procured was 228.88 THB (6.87 USD),
some species proved to be costlier than
others. White pomfret cost 716.67 THB
(21.51 USD) per kilogram, whereas
pickled short-bodied mackerel could be
bought for as little as 40 THB (1.20 USD)
per kilogram.

The Shop purchased seafood
products that had already been processed
by fishers, their families, or community
members. In such instances, the Shop
paid a higher price for these seafood
products since they required less of the
Shop’s resources (labor in particular).
For example, the Shop paid 65 THB
(1.95 USD) for sweetened short-bodied
mackerel compared to the 43.37 THB
(1.29 USD) paid for unprocessed shortbodied mackerel. This seafood product
was then resold for a handsome profit
(400 THB or 12 USD). Such practices
help the Shop to satisfy consumer interest
in an array of seafood products, from
buying an entire fish to buying fish that
has already been prepared in a curry.

Most seafood is sold to retailers
or consumers in Bangkok (5071 kg),
with only small amounts of fish sold in
the province of origin (Prachuap) (737
kg) or in southern Thailand (42 kg).
Since Bangkok is only a 4-hour drive
away, Shop staff can pack and transport
fresh seafood in a timely manner, while
also selling processed seafood that stores
for longer periods of time (e.g., dried
or salted fish, or fish paste). Two-thirds
of Shop sales (3899 kg) take place in
the store4 or through selling at farmers’
markets in Bangkok. An emerging trend,
however, is online sales (1781 kg). Nearly
one-third of sales are done via home
delivery, whereby consumers order a
particular kind of seafood and the Shop
then sends this directly to a consumers’
home in Bangkok. Since only one of the
Shop employees drives a car, seafood
sold this way is either shipped through
the post office or transported by van to
Bangkok where consumers can either
pick it up at the Victory Monument
transport hub or have it motorcycled
directly to their home. While the amount
of seafood product sold to third-party
retailers in the first year of operations
was miniscule (170 kg) in comparison,
as demand from Lemon Farm (a chain
of organic supermarkets in Bangkok)
and other Thai retailers increases, this
percentage will also increase.

3

For example, only 3.10 kg of lined silver grunt, 1.20 kg of striped sea catfish, 6.50 kg of queenfish, and
5 kg siamese glassfish were bought.
4
In store sales include orders placed by consumers via telephone or the Shop’s Line application as well
as purchases made physically at the FisherFolk Shop.

39