May 25, 2004

 

 

Thailand Chicken Exports Delayed On OIE Verification

 

Thailand might not be able to resume exports of fresh chicken in August as scheduled, as a key world animal health organisation has not yet declared the country free of bird flu, according to the Livestock Development Department.

 

Yukol Limlaemthong, the department's director-general, said that although Thailand announced its poultry farms were free of bird flu on May 14, endorsement by the OIE (Office International des Epizooties) was necessary if the country was to export the products again.

 

Once the OIE's verification is received, exports will resume over the next six months. Therefore, exports of raw chicken meat could be shipped sometime in the last quarter, he said.

 

Thai chicken meat was banned by major buyers - Japan and the European Union - after local poultry farms were hit by bird flu in January, leading to a cull of more than 35 million birds.

 

Although the EU did not ban Thai processed chicken, it demanded the meat be cooked up to a specific temperature and duration. Japan lifted its ban on heat-treated chicken in late February.

 

The disease has dealt a heavy blow to Thai chicken exports.

 

Shipments in the first quarter fell by half compared with the same period last year, to 60,700 tonnes worth 5.9 billion baht.

 

The Thai Broiler Processing Exporters Association expects chicken exports for the entire year to drop to around 230,000 tonnes, or half of the previous projection.

 

But Mr Yukol insisted that the department had applied an appropriate system to monitor and contain the spread of the virus.

 

Livestock divisions have been set up in all districts while the department's eight authorised laboratories nationwide are linked with those of educational institutions to speed up the verification period to six to eight days from two weeks previously.

 

He said farmers could resume raising chickens if they met the requirements and conditions set by the department, including the adoption of closed-farm systems. Farmers must now apply for permission whenever birds were to be moved as well.