January 16, 2004

 

 

Thailand Chicken Exports Not Affected By Singapore Ban

 

Thailand's chicken exports will not be affected by Singapore's suspension of some Thai chicken imports, Commerce Minister Wattana Muangsook said on Friday.

 

Singapore announced Thursday it has suspended the import of all live birds, day-old chicks, whole frozen poultry and poultry offal from Thailand following reports of an outbreak there of fowl cholera.

 

However, imports of poultry cuts and parts - nearly 99% of Singapore's chicken imports from Thailand - are still allowed.

 

"Thai chicken exports won't be hampered by the ban as all our exports are chicken cuts and parts...also, no other countries have banned Thai chickens," Wattana said.

 

In 2003, Singapore imported about 15,000 tons of chicken meat from Thailand, valued at S$54 million.

 

Wattana also said the death of chickens doesn't necessarily mean a shortage, as chickens have a short life cycle of only 45 days. Thus, new chickens will be raised to offset the deaths and fulfill overseas demand.

 

Wattana said he has told commercial counselors based overseas to inform the governments of their base country of the real cause of chicken deaths in Thailand.

 

This week, farmers and some local media reported that millions of chickens on some Thai farms have died from an alleged outbreak of bird flu, which has ravaged poultry farms elsewhere in Asia, including Vietnam, South Korea and Japan.

 

However, Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said lab tests show the chickens had died of cholera and respiratory illness, which won't spread from chickens to humans. He also confirmed that Thai chickens are safe for consumption.

 

Thaksin said Thursday that experts from the World Health Organization will arrive in Thailand next week to conduct tests on the dead chickens. He said the WHO's visit should prove that there is no bird flu in Thailand.

 

According to government figures, Thailand is the world's fourth largest chicken exporter. In 2003, it shipped 500,000 tons of chickens worth 52 billion baht (US$1=THB39.016), and has set a target of about 600,000 tons for this year.