February 18, 2008

Thailand's poultry safety to be boosted by compartmental system

Even as Thailand would likely emerge relatively unscathed from the recent bouts of bird flu in the country, it is looking to improve the safety of its poultry system.

Thailand is the first country to apply a compartment system that meets the guidelines of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), Pornsri Laurujisawat, manager of the Thai Broiler Processing Exporters Association, said.

The system requires farmers to raise poultry in designated areas, hence enhancing disease protection.

Thailand was selected by the OIE as a pilot country for its compartment system and OIE experts would arrive in Thailand in April this year for inspections, Pornsri added. 

Ms Pornsri said the association would petition the Livestock Development Department to promote the compartment system in the poultry industry to bolster Thai food safety standards.

The association would also call on the Thai government to negotiate with South Korea to cut tariffs on cooked chicken products, currently at 30 percent, and its value-added tax, now at 10 percent.

South Korea is the third-largest poultry export market for Thailand.

The re-emergence of bird flu is expected to have a minimal impact on the poultry industry partly due to the fact that Thailand's chicken exports are now primarily cooked and semi-processed meat as opposed to fresh meat.

Thailand's 2008 poultry exports are projected to rise 4.5 percent to 345,000  tonnes, according to the association.

The EU and Japan are the top two markets for Thai poultry, accounting for 48 percent and 43 percent of the total respectively.