As international trade in frozen chicken falters, Thailand's increase in exports of chicken preparations continues unabated and its own shipments of frozen cuts tentatively forge their way back into the market.

According to Poultry Highlights from the NFU in England, June shipments of cooked chicken preparations amounted to 38,900 tonnes, an emphatic 33 per cent more than in the same month last year as EU buyers led by the UK recovered their momentum and Japan also took significantly more.

EU imports amounted to 18,258t in June, of which almost 12,400t was taken by the UK, up from 10,000 in June 2009. A sharp increase in orders from France added impetus to the EU market, which is now seen to have imported just short of 186,000t of Thai preparations in the first half of this year, up 13 per cent on the year.

Japan, which is taking almost as much as the EU, imported an extra 5,500t in June this year compared to last, with its 18,000t intake pushing its total Thai imports for the first half of 2010 to over 79,560t, 11 per cent more than the same period of 2009.