First lot of Thai poultry products shipped to China

BANGKOK, March 28 (TNA) - Thailand has shipped the first out of a total of 14 lots of frozen poultry products to China's southern region, reflecting Beijing's confidence in the quality of the Thai processed food. Vice Minister for Agriculture and Cooperatives Niwat Sutheemeechaikul presided over an event to send the first container of the frozen Thai poultry products to China's Yunnan Province at the Chiang Saeng Port in the northern Thai Chiang Rai Province on Wednesday. The vice minister said the first shipment of the frozen Thai poultry products, out of the total of 14 shipments as agreed by both Thai and Chinese authorities, followed a visit to Thailand by a Chinese official delegation to inspect 14 local poultry production plants in July 2017 as invited by his ministry. The vice minister revealed that the Chinese official delegates then expressed their satisfaction with the quality and hygienic production processes of the Thai plants, leading to the signing of an agreement between his ministry's Department of Livestock Development and China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) on the latter's initial imports of 14 lots of Thai frozen poultry and parts, totally worth about 35 million baht. Meanwhile, Department of Livestock Development Deputy Secretary General Dr. Somchuan Ratanamungklanon told journalists that after last year's inspection, China's Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA) has issued its certification to seven out of the total 19 Thai poultry production plants so far. According to the Thai senior official, his department has estimated that exports of Thai poultry products from the seven plants should earn the Thai Kingdom about seven billion baht annually and exports from all the 19 inspected plants, if later approved, should earn the Thai economy up to about 20 billion baht annually. (TNA)