The EU has not yet responded to Thailand's proposal to ease its import quota, said Ambassador Puangrat Asavapisit, Thailand's permanent representative to the WTO. The proposal is aimed at carving out a share of Europe's chicken market after the EU earlier announced that it would change its import regulations.

Puangrat said Thailand was trying to negotiate for the best concessions possible because processed chicken has historically been one of Kingdom's major export products to the EU.

Thai delegates negotiated with EU officials in Geneva early this month. However, the EU has not agreed to Thailand's proposal for a special import quota of 300,000 tonnes per year and a quota increase of 25 per cent in three years.

According to the Commerce Ministry, Thailand shipped 106,503 tonnes of processed chicken to the EU, worth 266 million euros (Bt12.6 billion) last year. In the first seven months of this year, Thailand exported 67,555 tonnes of chicken worth Bt7.76 billion to the EU. The industry expects chicken exports to the EU to grow 25 to 30 per cent a year.

Source: The Nation