KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia and Thailand are working towards resolving concerns involving the trade of sea bass and prawns through technical discussions aimed at ensuring smoother market access while safeguarding food safety and aquatic animal health.
Fisheries director-general Datuk Adnan Hussain said the discussions centred on improving technical requirements for fisheries trade without compromising biosecurity measures and public health standards, Bernama reported.
“Malaysia views the process as a technical coordination effort between the competent authorities of both countries and not as a trade dispute.
“The approach taken is based on science, risk management and shared interests to ensure the fisheries trade relationship continues to grow in a fair, transparent and mutually beneficial manner,” he said in a statement today.
Adnan said Malaysia had submitted 35 technical questions regarding the prawn trade to obtain further clarification after conducting an initial assessment of information provided by Thailand, before completing its risk evaluation.
For sea bass imports, he said both countries were reviewing several requirements, including certification procedures, food safety measures and risk management protocols.
He added that Malaysia had proposed several initiatives to strengthen technical collaboration, including the harmonisation of certification requirements, improved traceability systems, greater scientific data sharing and the implementation of a more risk-based inspection approach.
“Malaysia hopes this approach will pave the way for a review of the 100 per cent sampling requirement for sea bass exporters with good compliance records, while exploring mechanisms such as green lanes for farms that meet food safety and biosecurity standards,” he said.
Adnan stressed that Malaysia’s decisions would continue to be guided by scientific risk assessments and international standards.
“Once all the necessary technical information is received, the assessment process will be expedited to facilitate smoother trade and safeguard the interests of the country’s aquaculture industry,” he said.
He said Malaysia also hoped the negotiations would resolve Thailand’s ban on Malaysian prawn imports, which has been in place since 2017, through a shared technical framework that would provide more balanced market access for both countries’ aquaculture sectors.
“The government, through the Department of Fisheries Malaysia (DOF), will continue to work with relevant ministries and agencies to strengthen export market access while assisting operators in improving compliance with export standards, traceability systems and biosecurity practices to meet international market requirements,” he said.
The matter was raised during a meeting between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his Thai counterpart Anutin Charnvirakul yesterday, where both leaders agreed to accelerate efforts to resolve outstanding fisheries market access issues during Anutin’s official visit to Malaysia.
On May 16, Malaysia tightened import controls on Thai fisheries products by requiring Certificates of Analysis (CoA) for sea bass imports and imposing a temporary restriction on five shrimp species.
The temporary restriction applies to Penaeus esculentes (brown tiger prawn), Fenneropenaeus merguiensis (banana prawn), Penaeus vannamei (whiteleg shrimp), Penaeus monodon (giant tiger prawn) and Penaeus stylirostris (blue shrimp).
Thailand remains one of Malaysia’s key markets for sea bass exports, with bilateral trade valued at RM92.6 million involving 9,286 tonnes in 2024. Trade value up to 2025 stood at RM42.6 million involving 4,320 tonnes. — July 10, 2026