Japan has announced that it will import 5,000 tonnes of raw chicken from Thailand in Q1 2014 after Tokyo lifted its 10-year ban on from Thai imports
The country had agreed in December 2013 to resume imports after no reports of avian flu among Thai poultry for many years.
Phaisilp Voravisutthikul, vice-president of CP Merchandising Co, said the export volume could reach 80,000 to 100,000 tonnes by the end of this year but it will take several more years to reach 200,000 tonnes, the level Japan purchased from Thailand before the bird flu outbreak in 2004, according to www.bangkokpost.com.
He said Japan had since been importing chicken meat from Brazil, with a volume of 350,000 tonnes last year.
Shipments from Thailand take seven to 10 days compared with two months from Brazil, Voravisutthikul added.
