Samut Sakhon
Thailand's seafood processing capital—6,000+ factories, 40% of shrimp exports, 400K Burmese migrants (70K registered), Thai Union's 40-year home.
Samut Sakhon runs on migrant labor and seafood. Thailand's highest concentration of fish processing plants cluster here—over 6,000 factories processing 40% of the country's shrimp exports. An estimated 400,000 Burmese migrants work the peeling lines and fishing boats; only 70,000 are legally registered. The province is both Thailand's seafood engine and its most concentrated dependency on informal foreign labor.
Thai Union, the world's largest canned tuna producer, has operated from Samut Sakhon for 40+ years, employing 10,000+ workers at its local facilities. The company's Samut Sakhon plant received the Prime Minister's visit in 2024, symbolizing the province's centrality to Thailand's food export economy. Mahachai—the provincial heart—hosts the country's largest wholesale fishery market, moving product from Gulf boats to processing lines to international containers.
The dependency carries risks. ILO research documented 12.7% child labor prevalence in local seafood processing. Annual fishing bans (June–September) in the Gulf of Thailand restrict catches. Labor scrutiny from importing nations threatens market access. By 2026, Samut Sakhon faces pressure from multiple directions: formalize migrant labor or lose export markets, mechanize processing or remain dependent on cheap hands, diversify beyond seafood or remain a one-industry province.