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May 18, 2009
May 18, 2009
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AH1N1 epidemic boosts Thai chicken and seafood exports
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The global spread of the AH1N1 virus, initially called the AH1N1, has boosted by about 20 percent Thailand's export of chicken, shrimp and tuna.
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The situation has not been good for the pig industry around the world, but it has boosted sales for poultry and seafood products, according to Chaisak Boonprasopthanachote, deputy managing director of the Thai Foods Group and president of Chicken Farmer Association.
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The number of confirmed AH1N1 cases soared to 8,451 with 72 deaths as of last weekend, according to the World Health Organization. The United States, followed by Mexico, where the epidemic began some three weeks ago, have recorded the highest number of cases.
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In Japan, as of last Sunday, 32 more people had tested positive for AH1N1, bringing the total number of cases to 44.
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Although there has not been any reported connection between AH1N1 and pork consumption, people in Europe, Japan, the United States and other countries are shifting to other protein alternatives such as chicken and seafood, Chaisak said.
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In particular, he said, there has been a surge in processed chicken orders from Europe during the past few weeks. "EU countries are stocking up on chicken and other non-pork food to maintain a stable staple supply in case of an emergency."
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Chaisak said that in the past two weeks poultry farmers had noted a 10-percent rise in live broiler orders from local chicken processing factories. "These factories are telling us there has been an upsurge in demand for cooked chicken from Europe since the AH1N1 outbreak."
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At the start of the year, the local poultry industry anticipated a 10-15 percent drop in demand owing to the global economic downturn. But due to the H1N1 crisis, Chaisak said, demand has shot up instead, even causing chicken meat prices to escalate by 5-10 percent.
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There is, however, a downside to it. Because of a surge in demand, the price of chicks has also gone up to THB12 each, from only THB7-8 last month, Chaisak said.
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The Chicken Farmers Association also fears that the current upsurge in demand could trigger production expansions among poultry farms. Such a scenario, the president of the association said, could result in a serious oversupply situation once the AH1N1 epidemic is contained.
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In March and April, local poultry producers started cutting down production after a slide in processed chicken exports during the first quarter of the year in the aftermath of the worldwide economic recession.
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"Our worry is that production level could shoot up to the January level of 19 million birds a week – or even more – and then overseas demand starts to decline once the AH1N1 threat is over. This could result in a new price depression for Thailand's chicken industry," Chaisak said.
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Poj Aramwattananont, president of the Rubicon Group, a major tuna exporter, said the AH1N1 epidemic had also driven Thai exports of shrimp and tuna to rise. He noted that since the start of the AH1N1 outbreak, demand for shrimp and tuna from abroad had also gone up.
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