World Status, Exploitation and Trade - WIDECAST

THAILANDDomestic trade Turtle eggs arf generally sold in the vicinity of thebeach on which they were collected; however, some, particularly the eggs ofD. coriacea , which are considered a luxury, are transported for sale in thecity markets in Bangkok. In 1974, the eggs of C. mydas sold for Bht2.00(US$0.10) each, and occasionally as much as Bht3.00, while those ofE. imbricata and L. olivacea were valued at Bhtl.50-1.80 each (Polunin,1975). In 1985, in Pha Nga Province, L. olivacea eggs sold for BhtlS eachand D. coriacea for Bht25 each (J. Mortimer in litt. . 12 May 1988). Themeat of a single large turtle was said to be worth about BhtlOOO (US$50) in197A, which was equivalent to about 30 times a labourer's daily wage.Stuffed turtles are occasionally sold, and fetched about Bht700-2000 each in1974. Small E. imbricata were worth about BhtlOO per inch (US$2 a cm)(Polunin, 1975).International trade Thailand's Customs statistics report both importsand exports of raw tortoiseshell (Tables 202 and 204). Several othercountries report importing tortoiseshell from Thailand (Table 203). On thebasis of such Customs statistics, it has been inferred (Bain and Humphrey,1980; Mack et al , 1982) that Thailand has been a major exporter of theshell of E. imbricata . However the fact that Japan has not reported anyimports of bekko (shell of E. imbricata ) from Thailand since 1973 suggests,that much of the shell exported may have been of fresh-water turtle bonesand shells which are widely used in oriental medicine. Hong Kong is knownto import large quantities of this commodity. Similarly, most of thecountries from which Thailand has reported importing raw tortoiseshell,mostly China and Laos (see Table 204), are not known to be major producersof E. imbricata shell, and indeed Laos has no seaboard. It is thereforeprobable that the imports were also mainly of freshwater turtle shell.Table 202. Domestic exports of unworked tortoiseshell (kg) from Thailandto various countries of destination reported in Thailand Customs StatisticsDesfn 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985Belgium