August 6, 2007

Thailand to export cooked chicken to United Arab Emirates
 

Thailand can now export cooked chicken to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has approved the Thai Halal brand, 24 slaughterhouses and 36 processing facilities, said Agriculture and Co-operatives Minister Thira Sutabutr.

Halal food refers to food permitted for consumption according to Islamic law.

UAE officials earlier visited Thailand to inspect the production processes of halal food production overseen by the Islamic Committee Office of Thailand.

Thai cooked chicken products also got the green light for shipments to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and the Sultanate of Oman. GCC countries have agreed among themselves that products approved for import into any GCC member nation would also be accepted by other member nations.

Thailand is expected to export 10,000 tonnes of cooked chicken worth THB700 million (US$23.351 million) to GCC countries in 2007. The export value is seen to reach THB3.5 billion (US$116.754 million) next year.