Narathiwat’s Traditional Fish Cracker Business Booms Across Thailand
Narathiwat’s traditional fish cracker, Kuh Po, has been made with the same recipe for over 50 years and now sells more than a ton each day, earning about 10,000 baht. Owner Bang Ron has expanded the roadside stall into a regional supplier, reaching markets as far as Kolkata and Bangkok while keeping prices steady despite rising costs. The snack’s popularity continues to grow thanks to its fresh ingredients, crispy texture and lack of preservatives.
The fish cracker, known locally as Kuh Po, is made from fresh green‑backed fish sourced daily from Patani. Each batch uses about 1,600 kilograms of fish every three days, which is cleaned, soaked overnight, then mixed with tapioca starch, sago flour and duck egg in a secret ratio. The mixture is shaped into strips, boiled, sun‑dried for a full day, sliced thin and fried until golden. No preservatives are added; the fried crackers keep for a week while the raw sheets last three days.
From a modest roadside stall, the business now moves about one ton of product each day, generating roughly 10,000 baht in daily revenue. During holidays such as Ramadan, New Year and Songkran, orders surge. Despite rising transport and ingredient costs, Bang Ron has kept prices unchanged to retain his loyal customers. The shop, operating as ‘Kanah‑Bang Ron Ban Mai Kuh Po Fried’, has become a major distribution point, supplying retailers across Narathiwat province and neighboring areas including Yala, Pattani, Songkhla, Satun, Krabi, Phuket and even Bangkok.
