EU quota may clip poultry firms' wings

THAILAND - A new European Union quota for cooked-chicken imports will hurt Thai poultry exports, according to Adirek Sripratak, the president and CEO of Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc.

Mr Adirek said the future of cooked-chicken exports to the EU looked bright before it announced its plans. The 25- country market was expected to account for one-third of Thailand's projected exports of 300,000 tonnes this year.

But chicken exporters have been becoming increasingly worried that the EU's new tariff quota system would negatively affect exports.

Thailand can only export processed chicken to the EU as it banned fresh products in 2004 following the resurgence of bird flu.

Source: Bangkok Post

4 August 2006