July 16, 2008

Thailand's chicken processors and exporters are confident that compartmentalisation will encourage Japan and the EU to resume imports of fresh chicken meat.

Buyers from Japan and the EU shunned away from Thailand's fresh chicken meat imports due to the bird flu outbreak in 2004.

Resumption of fresh chicken exports would improve Thailand's economy due to high demand in overseas markets. Brazil and China are the only major fresh chicken suppliers now but high food prices have turned the eyes of importers to Thailand.

Fresh chicken exports would also help to improve the situation of oversupply - Thailand produces about 19 million birds per week, up from 12-13 million chickens a few years ago. When combined with high feed costs, it would serve to be very bad news for Thai chicken producers indeed.

The Livestock Development Department will send a proposal on compartmentalisation of Thai chicken farming to six major importers next month - Japan, the EU, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Thai and Japanese officials are expected to discuss the proposal at the next meeting on the Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement (JTEPA) in Bangkok in two months.

EU authorities are also invited to inspect the system, with Brussels considering draft regulations to adopt the new farming structure.

The system ensured chicken quality raised under the compartment structure, which follows the guidelines of OIE, according to executive vice president of CPF Teerasak Urunanon. The system requires biosecurity, effective surveillance against disease, better control of outbreak at farms and buffer zones one km away from detected areas, and traceability in all production stages.