South Korea give green light to Thai fresh chicken imports

BANGKOK Nov 18 (TNA) -- Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives said the South Korea has gave official permission to 12 Thai factories to being exporting fresh frozen chicken to the country once again, after a halt of 12 years in fears of the spreading of the bird flu. Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Gen Chatchai Sarikulya said the ministry, through the Department of Livestock Development (DLD), has been officially informed by the South Korean government that 12 Thai frozen fresh chicken factories have been registered under the country Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) and would be allowed to export their products to South Korea starting November 9. The minister said the green light by the South Korean government has positively affected the productions of 41 others fresh chicken and ready-to-eat chicken factories in Thailand, as they would able to file for consideration of a guarantee certificate from South Korea for future exports as well. Meanwhile, the 18 factories which have applied to be certified by the South Korean government would be inspected by the middle of next year. The minister pointed out that South Korea has halted all poultry imports from Thailand since 2004 due the spreading of the bird flu epidemic, in which the Thai government has continually pushed for poultry exports to return to normalcy ever since and was succeeded only recently. Previous data showed that South Korea had imported fresh and frozen chicken from Thailand at a rate between 30,000-40,000 tonnes annually, said the minister, adding if Thailand is able attract the same set of customers which had bought the poultry products before, the country would be able to reach the same export rate, reeling in an income of at least 3 billion baht. The first batch of the frozen chicken has been exported to South Korea since November 17. (TNA)