Thai Chicken Exports To Fall By 21.9% On Bird Flu

THAILAND - Thailand's chicken exports will slide 21.9% this year because of the recent outbreak of the bird flu virus, according to the Office of Agricultural Economics at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.
calendar icon 26 April 2004
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Thai Chicken Exports To Fall By 21.9% On Bird Flu - THAILAND - Thailand's chicken exports will slide 21.9% this year because of the recent outbreak of the bird flu virus, according to the Office of Agricultural Economics at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.

According to the statement released late Tuesday, the value of Thai chicken exports this year is expected to drop 6.6% to 38 billion baht ($1=THB39.380), and the volume is expected to total 390,000 metric tons.

Many countries banned imports of Thai chickens after the bird flu outbreak in Thailand was confirmed on Jan. 23. However, some major buyers such as Japan and countries belonging to the European Union are importing cooked Thai chickens. They consume 39% and 54% of Thai cooked chicken exports respectively, the statement said.

OAE expects exports of cooked chicken to surpass exports of raw chicken this year. Cooked chicken exports will rise to 220,000-230,000 tons from 128,000 tons last year, while frozen chicken exports will fall to 170,000 tons from 380,000 tons.

The chicken-raising industry in Thailand is still only about 40%-50% of the normal rate. That is because several farm areas are still being monitored for any reappearance of the bird flu virus before they can resume operations.

The government ordered the culling of thousands of chickens earlier this year in an attempt to stamp out the virus.

Healthy internal and export demand coupled with lean supply boosted the average price of chicken in Thailand during March by 6.80% from February to THB24.02 a kilogram, the statement also reported.

Thailand is the world's fourth largest chicken exporter after the U.S., Brazil and China.

Source: eFeedLink - 22nd April 2004

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