{"id":374398,"date":"2026-04-11T10:38:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T10:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/374398\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T10:38:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T10:38:16","slug":"thailands-fishing-industry-in-big-trouble-after-middle-east-war-doubles-fuel-prices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/374398\/","title":{"rendered":"Thailand’s fishing industry in ‘big trouble’ after Middle East war doubles fuel prices"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Captain Wongduen Meesamrong steered his fishing boat back to port through the Gulf of Thailand earlier this month after spending 15 days at sea, he was not expecting to return to unemployment.<\/p>\n

Before he left, diesel was sitting at 83 cents a litre.<\/p>\n

By the time he got back, it had more than doubled to about $2.22 a litre, a price that is far beyond the reach of most fishermen.<\/p>\n

Iran war live updates<\/a>: For the latest news on the Middle East crisis, read our blog<\/p>\n

“I’ll have to stop working for a long time,” he told the ABC as his crew offloaded crates of squid and small fish in Samut Sakhon, Thailand’s largest fishing and seafood processing port.<\/p>\n

“The fuel price is so expensive. We can’t go out.<\/p>\n

“We’re in big trouble. All over the sea, people are feeling it.”<\/p>\n

\"A Wongduen Meesamrong says fishermen “all over the sea” are feeling the pain.(ABC News: Haidarr Jones)<\/p>\n

Across the country, tens of thousands of small and commercial vessels working in Thailand’s multi-billion-dollar fishing industry are stranded on shore as the war in the Middle East and the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz strangle fuel supplies and push up prices.<\/p>\n

Thailand is vulnerable because it imports about 50 per cent of its energy from the Middle East.<\/p>\n

And in Samut Sakhon, fishermen and fishmongers alike tell the ABC their problems are compounded by the fact that consumers are trying to save money, reducing demand for their catch.<\/p>\n

From the markets to the docks\"A Srinual Malithong.(ABC News: Haidarr Jones)<\/p>\n

Seafood vendor Srinual Malithong says there have been fewer customers since the war began: “I can tell that people don’t want to go out.” (ABC News: Haidarr Jones)<\/p>\n

\"A Fisherman Somporn Auesrichat.(ABC News: Haidarr Jones)<\/p>\n

Somporn Auesrichat says this is the worst time in his 50 years of fishing: “But we must adjust to live with it \u2026 the sea is the lifeblood that sustains the fishers.” (ABC News: Haidarr Jones)<\/p>\n

\"A Demand for fish is decreasing because consumers are also being hit by rising prices.(ABC News: Haidarr Jones)<\/p>\n

Nurse Piyathida Chaiyapun, a customer at the Talay Thai Market, says she’s spending less money so she can afford fuel. (ABC News: Haidarr Jones)<\/p>\n

\"A Fisherman Sooksan Kanual returning to shore in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, on April 3, 2026.(ABC News: Haidarr Jones)<\/p>\n

Sooksan Kanual, 50, says fuel is so expensive that he cannot bear it any more: “I will have to find a job on land.” (ABC News: Haidarr Jones)<\/p>\n

\"Two Samut Sakhon.(ABC News: Haidarr Jones)<\/p>\n

Across Thailand, thousands of fishing vessels have been stranded on shore or at jetties, their owners no longer able to afford the fuel. (ABC News: Haidarr Jones)<\/p>\n

\"A Sombat Rungruangsakorn says millions of people will be affected by the fishing industry’s crisis.(ABC News: Haidarr Jones)<\/p>\n

Boat owner Sombat Rungruangsakorn, 65, says it has become too expensive to operate: “I can only pray the war will stop.” (ABC News: Haidarr Jones)<\/p>\n

\"A Saowaluk Pengkubhnu at a fish store in Samut Sakhon, Thailand, on April 3, 2026.(ABC News: Haidarr Jones)<\/p>\n

Saowaluk Pengkubhnu, a seafood vendor in the Mahachai Market, says her sales are down by 20 to 30 per cent: “It is getting harder to make a living.” (ABC News: Haidarr Jones)<\/p>\n

“Millions of people will feel the impact because fisheries is an upstream business \u2014 there are a lot of businesses connected to it,” said Sombat Rungruangsakorn, who owns two vessels, including the one Mr Wongduen captains.<\/p>\n

The industry is extremely fuel-intensive. Thailand’s fishing boats consume about 80-90 million litres of fuel per month, with many making voyages that stretch for weeks and cover more than 100 kilometres offshore. Even a small hike in prices can be difficult to manage.<\/p>\n

Mr Sombat said the last time he saw such sudden and astronomical price surges was more than 30 years ago, during the Gulf War in the early 1990s.<\/p>\n

\"A Consumers, feeling the impact of fuel prices too, are also buying less seafood.(ABC News: Haidarr Jones)<\/p>\n

Once fuel prices climb above $1.30, he said, it is simply not profitable to send his boats out.<\/p>\n

At stake is not only the livelihood of fishermen and their families, but also the hundreds of thousands of migrants, mostly from war-torn Myanmar, who work on the vessels.<\/p>\n

Stolen fuel and jobs on the line<\/p>\n

While the war has created this crisis, fishermen tell the ABC that unscrupulous actors are compounding it.<\/p>\n

They are suspicious that at least some fuel is being hoarded on ships offshore as suppliers wait for prices to rise further before selling it on.<\/p>\n

And they have good reason to be sceptical, with reports that up to 70 million litres of oil have gone missing from the southern port city of Surat Thani. The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) said it was examining transport records, vessel routes and possible ship-to-ship transfers at sea.<\/p>\n

\"Buckets The fuel crisis is impacting on all parts of the supply chain in Thailand.(ABC News: Haidarr Jones)<\/p>\n

Justice Minister Police Lieutenant General Rutthapon Naowarat told Thai media the fuel was unloaded from tankers onto smaller vessels, never to be seen again.<\/p>\n

With anger mounting among small and large fishing businesses, the Thai government announced it was working on increasing supplies of B20, a cheaper fuel that mixes diesel with biodiesel, a type of alternative fuel usually manufactured from vegetable oil or animal fats.<\/p>\n

This week, the government also began cutting retail diesel prices by roughly 9 cents per litre.<\/p>\n

\"A Mongkol Mongkoltrirak says thousands of workers could lose their jobs.(ABC News: Haidarr Jones)<\/p>\n

But the measure has not been welcomed by fishermen, who say the discount will do little to alleviate their problem.<\/p>\n

“The price of seafood won’t catch up with the price of fuel, which has increased rapidly in one month,” said Mongkol Mongkoltrirak, the director of the Samut Sakhon Fisheries Association.<\/p>\n

“If more than 80 per cent of fishing vessels are grounded, 150,000 workers will lose their jobs.”<\/p>\n

Mr Mongkol said he wanted the government to waive income tax for fishermen this year and create a recovery fund that offered loans without interest for those who had been forced to hang up their nets.<\/p>\n

Without drastic measures, he warned, it would only be a matter of time before seafood supplies were affected in Thailand and abroad.<\/p>\n

“The price of seafood will not increase immediately because there is still enough supply, but the demand is decreasing,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Consumers are worried that the crisis might drag on, and they want to keep money in their pocket.”<\/p>\n

$40 of diesel for $9 of fish<\/p>\n

All eyes are now on peace talks between the US and Iran that are taking place in Pakistan. Many in Thailand’s fishing community aren’t familiar with how or why the war started, but they know that it has come with a high cost.<\/p>\n

In the Tha Chin River in Samut Sakhon, just before it opens into the Gulf of Thailand, Sooksan Kanual woke up in the dark to try his luck.<\/p>\n

\"A Sooksan Kanual spent $40 on diesel just to return with $9 worth of fish.(ABC News: Haidarr Jones)<\/p>\n

The 50-year-old fisherman scraped together some money for fuel and took his long-tail boat out at four in the morning. But five hours later, when the ABC met him, he was regretting his decision.<\/p>\n

He had spent almost $40 on diesel, and all he had to show for it was $9 worth of fish.<\/p>\n

“It is not worth it. The fuel is so expensive, I can’t stand it anymore. I’ll have to find a job on land. It is the only way to survive,” he said.<\/p>\n

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