It stars Dolph Lundgren and Tony Jaa, alongside Michael Jai White and Ron Perlman.

Lundgren wrote the film with Gabriel Dowrick and Steven Elder, while John Hyams performed uncredited script revisions.

[3] Development started in 2007 after Lundgren read a news report about a group of girls being smuggled into the United States from Mexico.

The girls were left in a vehicle along the border and, trapped inside, they all died of heat stroke and suffocation.

Tony Vitayakul, a RTP detective in Thailand, subdues a group of human traffickers in pretext of "buying" a Thai girl.

Tony collects information about the ship used to transport trafficked girls and its destination, where he learns that Viktor Dragovic, a Serbian mobster, will be there to receive the shipment.

The film also stars Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Khat, a member of the Cambodian Senate; Maethi Thapthimthong as Nung, Vitayakul's partner on the Thai police force; and Bryce Hodgson as Dex, a petty criminal from New Jersey.

[5] He started developing Skin Trade in 2007, after reading a news report about a group of girls being smuggled into the United States from Mexico.

The girls were left in a vehicle along the border; trapped inside and with no means of escape, they all died of heat stroke and suffocation.

While he had previously turned down scripts offered to him for international markets, Uekrongtham found Skin Trade "riveting".

She was heading to Thailand for a holiday "after a year of hard work", and her agent phoned to tell her about the "perfect role"; even insisting on her having a "quick look" at the script.

[19] On February 7, 2014, SC Films announced the casting of Michael Jai White, Ron Perlman, Peter Weller, Celina Jade, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa.

Weller was the original choice to play Viktor Dragovic, but due to scheduling issues, the role went to Perlman instead.

[11] In Thailand, filming locations included: Suvarnabhumi Airport, the Min Buri District, the Siam Kempinski Hotel, a rice mill, a leather-bleaching factory, and a century-old mansion.

[1] Skin Trade was the first film to be shot in English by an organization based in Asia (outside of Hong Kong) for an international theatrical release.

[18] Uekrongtham arranged "a few lunches and dinners" between Lundgren and his on-screen family (Tasya Teles and Chloe Babcook), so they could bond "on a personal level" before filming scenes together.

According to White, his fight scenes with Jaa were in "large part" choreographed ten minutes before filming.

[16] According to Lundgren, the fact that "a lot of" editors worked on the film resulted in him not having "all the control [he] wanted" over the final product.

[42] At the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, Hyde Park International presented potential buyers with nine minutes of footage.

[38] No information is available for the film's Thailand debut, but it peaked in fifth place during the second week, and grossed $137,643 from 40 screenings ($3,441 per theater).

By the end of the third week, the film dropped to eleventh place at the Thai box office, making a further $3,686 (bringing the entire gross to $141,329 in Thailand).

By the end of the second week, it dropped two places at the box office, making a further $32,917 from 39 screenings (bringing the entire gross to $162,163 in Malaysia).

[55] Martin Tsai of LA Times wrote "If bare-knuckle fights are what you seek, director Ekachai Uekrongtham certainly delivers, but the film scarcely scratches the surface of the horrors of human trafficking.

"[58] Nick Schager of Variety wrote "Dolph Lundgren and Tony Jaa star in this tedious, formulaic actioner.

[56] "Offering literally nothing original, Skin Trade is just a bargain bin action vehicle for an aging star."

"[60] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "The screenplay is far more complicated than it needed to be, featuring enough plot twists and character reversals to fuel a dozen thrillers, but it hardly matters, since the film’s main impetus is to provide a nonstop series of action sequences featuring its formidable leads.

"[61] Scott Tobias of The Dissolve gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote "Skin Trade is a throwback to the one-man-army actioners of the ’80s, sprinkled with updated stats on human trafficking.

"[62] Simon Abrams of Rogerebert gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Skin Trade is best enjoyed if you take its most blissfully absurd qualities in stride with its most appreciably well-crafted assets [action sequences].

"[64] Teles said she would be open to returning for a sequel;[65] she feels the film was "set [...] up very nicely for" one, and claims "[e]verybody's wondering" if there will be a follow-up.

[66] On the possibility of a sequel, Lundgren said: "I didn't consider [Skin Trade] as a franchise, but when I was over there [in Thailand], I started thinking, 'How would I do this different?