THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Chinese market offers scope for more chicken exports

Chinese market offers scope for more chicken exports

China has announced that the spread of the new coronavirus (Covid-19) has passed the peak after the number of newly infected people in Wuhan, Hubei province, which is the source of the epidemic, has fallen to a single digit. The crisis has also created export opportunities for Thailand in many products such as rice, cassava, canned seafood, rubber gloves, plastic beads, and textiles, which are likely to receive more orders during the second quarter of this year.

There may be high demand for chicken products and pigs.

Kukrit Areepakorn, manager of the Thai Broiler Processing Exporters Association, said importers of chicken products from China have placed orders for products with 15 Thai chicken processing plants that have passed certification. New importers from China are contacting the association every day to help coordinate with the production plants to deliver products in the second quarter and in the long term. However, most are disappointed because the factories that have certification are already producing to full capacity and there is no room for additional output, he said.


"At the moment, the Covid-19 situation in China has begun to stabilise. Logistics in China has returned to normal," he said. "Their product stocks have started to decline, increasing the need for imports. At this time, there are 12 Thai chicken processing plants that the Chinese authorities have approved. If it is officially certified, it will double the value of [chicken] exports to China this year," he added.
In 2019, Thailand exported 954,000 tonnes of fresh and frozen chicken products worth Bt111.5 billion, divided into Japanese market (438,000 tonnes worth Bt59.7 billion), the EU market (320,000 tonnes worth Bt33.8 billion) and 196,000 tonnes to other markets, worth Bt18 billion. Exports to the Chinese market were 65,000 tonnes, an increase of 18,000 tonnes over 2018, or a 261 per cent increase in orders from China due to the African Swine Fever (ASF), which has made the Chinese turn to consuming more chicken.
The association has set a target for 2020 to export 980,000 tonnes of chicken products worth Bt120 billion, with expectations the Chinese market will increase imports. The main competitors are chicken from Brazil, the United States, Argentina, Chile. and a new competitor, Vietnam, which has started to focus on exporting chicken products to China instead of pork after Vietnam also suffered from ASF. But Vietnam is currently plagued by the bird flu problem, and China prohibits importing chicken products from countries with this disease.

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