November 27, 2006

Thailand and EU agree on chicken quotas

Thailand and EU trade negotiators have agreed to new quotas and tariffs for Thai poultry that was supposed to last over the next few years, the European Commission said.

The poultry industry in Thailand has had the jitters since the EU announced quotas for cooked and salted poultry in Thailand in August, with many fearing Thailand would lose its second most important poultry market.

The EU has now set the quota for Thai cooked poultry at 160,033 tonnes a year. Exports beyond the quota would be subject to a tariff of EUR 1,024 a tonne while exports within the quota would be charged a tariff of 8.0 percent.

Prasert Abuchiracheeva, head of the Thai Broiler Processing Association, conceded the quotas were reached over a compromise. Thai exporters had wanted the quota set at 190,000-200,000 tonnes as Thailand could reach the newly-set quota in just a few years.
 

However, he believes the EU market could open wider under a free trade deal currently being negotiated between the European Union and Southeast Asia.

For salted poultry, the annual quota was agreed at 92,610 tons, with a tariff of EUR 1,300 a tonne charged for exports beyond that. Exports within quota face a 15.4 percent tariff.

However, both salted poultry and raw poultry, is currently banned by the EU because of fears over bird flu.

Thailand last year shipped 106,503 tonnes worth some EUR 265.8 million of processed chicken to the EU, Thailand's second biggest buyer after Japan. Exports are expected to reach 130,000 tonnes this year.