November 8, 2006

 

Thailand and EU to discuss chicken tariffs

 

 

Thailand's negotiators are to meet with the EU representatives in Bangkok to negotiate chicken import tariffs in the EU.

 

The meeting would be held within the next two weeks, said Friedrich Hamburger, the head of the European Commission delegation in Bangkok.

 

Thailand's Commerce Minister Krirkkrai Jirapaet said yesterday that he hopes the meeting would minimise the impact of the EU's import tariff change on Thai chicken.

 

In August, the EU announced new quotas for cooked chicken, salted chicken and turkey imports for next year.

 

EU's total import quota is set at 264,245 tonnes of salted chicken at a tariff rate of 15.4 percent and 230,453 tonnes of cooked chicken at 10.9 percent tax.

 

Brazil is expected to take the largest shares of the quota - expected to be around 170,000 tonnes of salted chicken and 73,000 tonnes of cooked chicken.

 

Although Thailand is expected to get a 150,000-tonne quota for cooked chicken, exporters are hoping to get a 200,000-tonne quota.

 

Exports falling within the quotas will be taxed at existing rates, but shipments beyond the quotas would be taxed at a rate Bt4,900 (US$133.6) per 100 kilogrammes.

 

The EU is now considering Thailand's import quotas.

 

Thailand has enjoyed a trade surplus of US$4.6 billion in the Thailand-EU trade last year.