June 21, 2011

Thailand's chicken exports unaffected by dead chicken issue

Thailand's Ministry of Commerce has guaranteed that in spite of illegal sales of chicken carcasses within the country, the country's export of chicken meat will not be affected due to stringent quality control over outgoing products.

In the wake of the discovery of a large number of chicken carcasses at a chicken processing factory in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Permanent Secretary for Commerce Yanyong Phuangrach expressed confidence that the bizarre case threatening food safety in Thailand would not cause damages on the chicken export.

He reasoned that the malpractice only involved small-sized chicken farms and factories while most importing countries, such as those in the EU and Japan, usually required quality certificates for food products.

At present, the market price of chicken is within the recommended price of THB70/kg (US$2.29) set by the Department of Internal Trade. Likewise, the pork price still stands within the suggested range of THB130-140 (US$4.26-4.59) a kilogramme, depending on the region; however, some reports of overpricing have been received in the Northeast and the South.

Meanwhile, the increasing production of eggs is expected to lead to an oversupply in the next one to two months. Therefore, the Ministries of Commerce and Agricultural and Cooperatives are preparing to join hands in promoting egg consumption among the Thai people.