December 13, 2004

Thailand's Chicken Exports Plunge 91% Due to Bird Flu

Thailand's exports of fresh chickens and chicken products plunged 91 percent over the first 10 months of the year as a result of the avian flu pandemic, according to the secretary-general of the Office of Agricultural Economics.

Mr. Suthiporn Jeeraphan said that the bird flu crisis at the beginning of the year and the second outbreak in July had caused frozen chicken exports to fall to a low of 26,375 tons, worth Bt1.732 billion. 

This compares with 304,446 tons of frozen chicken exports over the first 10 months of 2003, worth Bt20.345 billion.

Mr. Suthiporn warned that failure to control the avian flu situation could lead to the permanent loss of Thailand's export market, despite the fact that negotiations securing the export of cooked chicken products had helped ease the situation.

He also noted that it would be difficult to bring on board closed farming methods in all chicken farms, as this required time and careful coordination among the agencies involved.