Singapore raises import quota for Thai chicken eggs

BANGKOK, January 16 (TNA) - Singapore has agreed to raise its import quota for Thailand's exports of chicken eggs to almost 11 million additional units monthly as of January 11, 2019. Sorawit Thanito, Director-General of the Department of Livestock Development, under the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, told journalists of the update on Wednesday, following a visit to Thailand by a team of officials from the Agri-food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) during January 6-8 to inspect an additional egg chicken farm. "My department has recently received an official notification from AVA that it has certified the biosecurity system of the newly-inspected Thai egg chicken farm, as it was found to meet my department's standard as reported and the AVA's requirement, leading to the green light to raise the import quota for Thailand's exports of chicken eggs to the island state by 10.8 million units additionally a month as of January 11", Sorawit explained. Sorawit said Singapore began to import Thai chicken eggs in 2017, the same year when Thailand also began exporting chicken eggs to South Korea, and last year the shipments of Thai chicken eggs to Singapore alone reached 789 tons, or 13.4 million units, totally worth 37 million baht. The senior veterinarian acknowledged the sound prospect of Thailand's exports of chicken eggs to Singapore, which helps ease the problems of oversupply of chicken eggs and a drop in chicken egg prices on the domestic market currently, while also raising income for local egg chicken farms, stating that another AVA team is scheduled to visit Thailand next month to inspect at least another Thai egg chicken farm. According to the senior veterinarian, Hong Kong has become the largest market for Thailand's exports of chicken eggs, accounting for over 80 per cent of overall Thai exports of chicken eggs so far, with the country's shipments of chicken eggs to the Hong Kong market alone reaching 19,730 tons or 335 million units last year, totally worth 885 million baht, from 11,930 tons or 203 million units, totally worth 596 million baht a year earlier. (TNA)