January 19, 2004

 

 

EU To Address Thailand Poultry Concern

 

European Union Health Commissioner David Byrne will make a six-day trip down to Thailand to address outbreak of chicken cholera and bronchitis plaguing the country, EU officials said.

 

Byrne's trip to Thailand, Asia's largest chicken exporter and a major source of EU poultry imports, was scheduled months in advance and that it comes during the epidemic was "coincidental" officials said.

 

"But I'm sure it will be on his agenda," Steve Needham of the EU's Bangkok delegation said. 

 

Byrne is due to hold talks with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra Monday and meet Agriculture Minister Somsak Thepsutin and members of local and European business communities.

 

He will also travel to Pathum Thani province north of Bangkok to visit a testing laboratory attached to the ministry's livestock department.

 

"It's a courtesy call. He is not here to give marks of approval," Needham said.

 

Authorities stressed that Thailand has avoided a bird flu epidemic that has hit several Asian countries, including Vietnam, where the outbreak has been blamed for 13 deaths.

 

But they acknowledged the seriousness of the existing diseases, and agriculture ministry officials were reportedly due to meet Sunday with chicken farmers and exporters on how to deal with the outbreak's impact.

 

Thaksin was cited in the Bangkok Post as saying about 1.5 million chickens have been killed under epidemic control measures.

 

The EU is Thailand's largest chicken market, with 36 billion bath million dollars worth of poultry exports to Europe in 2003.

 

In 2002 the EU introduced systematic checks on shrimp imported from Thailand after traces of cancer-linked chemicals were found, but the checks were suspended a year ago when the EU cited "major improvement" in the situation by Thailand.