Exporters confident bird flu can be tamed

[Braveheart]

Extracted from the Bangkok Post

 

PHUSADEE ARUNMAS

 

Chicken exporters are optimistic that the latest bird flu outbreak will have only a minor impact on the country's exports. Authorities yesterday confirmed the outbreak at a duck farm in Phitsanulok, the fifth in Thailand since early 2004 and the first since last July.

 

Anan Sirimongkolkasem, president of the Thai Broiler Processing Exporters Association, said he expected the latest outbreak could be dealt with effectively.

 

''It's not a new case, and the Thai authorities have had two to three years of experience in containing outbreaks,'' said Mr Anan, who is also the president of GFPT, a major chicken exporter.

 

Authorities have already culled thousands of ducks and have imposed transport bans on poultry to contain the outbreak.

 

Indonesia, Vietnam and Japan are also fighting bird flu outbreaks and infections in humans who contracted the H5N1 bird flu virus from exposure to birds.

 

He said local poultry companies had invested heavily in bio-security to protect their farms over the past three years.

 

Thailand's poultry exports this year are projected at 300,000 tonnes, almost all of it processed chicken, worth 30 billion baht. This is a slight increase from the 295,000 tonnes shipped abroad last year.

 

Since 2004, most exporters have shifted to heat-treated chicken to avoid import bans on fresh meat imposed by Europe and Japan, two of Thailand's largest markets for poultry.

 

Mr Anan said poultry consumption in Japan was likely to decrease due to the recent discovery of the flu in that country.

 

''But we haven't received any inquiries yet from Japanese buyers. They know pretty well that we make cooked products that are safe from the disease,'' he added.

 

The emergence of bird flu has had a slight impact on the shares of GFPT and Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CPF), which are both listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. CPF shares closed yesterday at 4.92 baht, down four satang, while GFPT shares declined 20 satang to 11.60 baht.

 

Mr Anan acknowledged that live chicken prices had dropped to between 22 and 26 baht per kilogramme, from 30 to 32 baht last month. Prices had fallen not due to bird flu, but oversupply, as 17 million chicks were being raised each week, compared with 14 million a week last month. ''Consumers have also tightened their belts and are paying less for meat.''

 

According to Teerasak Urunanon, an executive vice-president of CPF, the company's domestic sales have remained steady. Consumers also have greater understanding about the bird flu and the importance of proper cooking, in contrast to past outbreaks, when domestic sales plunged by 10% to 15%.

 

CPF remains upbeat it can ship 100,000 tonnes of chicken this year, up 30% over the year before. The EU is the main market with about 60-70% of the total volume, while Japan consumes 30%.

 

Mr Teerasak said Thailand's chicken exports since the start of this year had not been as strong as usual. He assumed that buyers might have a large amount of stock left from Christmas.