Farmers see light at the end of the tunnel

THAILAND - Although traces of bird flu still linger in Thailand, local poultry producers are hoping the business will bottom out in 2005 and eventually begin to rebound after the disastrous events of last year.

Currently, local per capita chicken consumption has bounced back to 10 kilogrammes, up from eight last year. The current figure is still less than before the bird flu outbreak in early 2004, which stood at 12 kg per head, according to Veerapong Panjawattanakul, president of the Thai Broiler Association, which represents local chicken farmers.

Mr Veerapong said consumer sentiment has more or less recovered, with domestic chicken consumption this year likely to increase to 650,000 tonnes, up from 509,000 the previous year.

The price of live chickens has also bounced back to 32 baht/kg this year, a strong improvement over the 18-25 baht/kg seen last year.

Source: Bangkok Post

16 March 2005