Display mode (Doesn't show in master page preview)

13 Mar 2006

Agriculture

Chinese Chicken: Thailand's Rival and Trade Partner ... Worth Watching

คะแนนเฉลี่ย

China is one of Thailand's competitors and trade partners in chicken products worth watching. Over the past decade, the output of Chinese broilers has exhibited quite rapid growth. Therefore, chicken products exported from the Mainland have been competing with Thai counterparts in key markets, particularly, Japan and Hong Kong. The same is also true in other markets, i.e., South Korea, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, where Thailand is expanding its chicken product market. Of late, the spread of the avian influenza in China has prompted many countries to ban imports of chicken products from the Mainland, causing the Thai broiler industry to become concerned about the possible influx of Chinese chicken products into other countries, including Thailand. Under these circumstances, proper measures should be adopted by related Thai public and private agencies to strictly examine shipments of Chinese chicken products to Thailand, and thus assure importers of Thai chicken products and Thai producers, as well. In so doing, stability will also be created for the local broiler industry. Worse still, under the Thailand-China FTA agreement, the import tariff on processed chicken from China was slashed to 20 percent from the former rate of 30 percent, as of July 1, 2005, and Chinese processed chicken will become duty-free by 2010. This will make for an unprecedented opening of the Thai market for Chinese chicken products.

However, the Thailand-China FTA pact may prove to be a plus for exports of Thai chicken products to China. Under the bilateral trade deal, China has to cut its tariff on Thai processed chicken to 15 percent from 17 percent previously, eventually leading to duty-free status in 2010. Meanwhile, the tariff levied on fresh, chilled and frozen chicken meat will be immediately eliminated. All in all, Thailand's hopes for chicken exports to China are pinned on Thailand being declared free of the bird flu.

Agriculture

Chicken