Thai Chicken exports to UAE start up again

Thai Chicken exports to UAE start up again

Halal certification changes adopted

PHUSADEE ARUNMAS



Agriculture Minister Thira Sutabutra checks the doors on a CPF container bound for the UAE.

Thailand
has resumed chicken exports to the United Arab Emirates following a
suspension in 2005 due to changes in Halal certification of
cooked-chicken products in the Arab country.

The first shipment of 64
tonnes of chicken meat from Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CPF), valued at
10 million baht, departed yesterday for the UAE and other Gulf
Co-operation Council (GCC) countries, which include Saudi Arabia,
Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.

CPF is one of 24 chicken slaughterhouses and 36 chicken
processing factories in Thailand that received UAE approval in August.
Officials from the Gulf state had inspected food-production processes
to ensure they complied with Islamic law and also consulted with the
Islamic Committee Office of Thailand before granting approvals.

Agriculture Minister Thira Sutabutra said the approval was an
crucial step for Thai meat exports to the large Halal market with an
estimated 1.8 billion potential consumers and worth of more than US$500
billion per year.

Mr Thira said the UAE also certified the quality of Thai cooked chicken to be exported to the GCC countries.

CPF chief executive officer Adirek Sripratak said the company
expected to export about 3,000 tonnes of chicken to the UAE next year
and the volume would help lift its overall export growth by 15% in 2008
from an estimated 90,000 tonnes this year. CPF plans to utilise its
representative office in Dubai as a distribution centre for CP products
to consumers and retail food service operators in other GCC countries.

CPF remains upbeat that its export performance will meet
projections even though it has had to increase export prices of cooked
chicken products by around 20% to 30% to reflect higher costs, stemming
from expensive animal feed and rises in transport expenses.

Anan Sirimongkolkasem, president of the Thai Broiler Processing
Exporters Association, who attended yesterday’s ceremony, said the
resumption of shipments to the UAE could help assure that Thailand
would be able to export 330,000 tonnes of chicken meat next year to
earn about 40 billion baht, a rise of 7-8% in volume and 10-15% in
value.

This year, the exports are on pace to meet a target of 320,000 tonnes worth 36 billion baht.

The Middle East countries are among many new markets for Thai
chicken, of which 90% of total shipments typically go to Japan and the
European Union.

Shares of CPF closed yesterday at 4.64 baht, unchanged, in trade worth 48.95 million baht.