"Our fresh-chicken exports have dropped dramatically. The ratio of exports at Saha Farms has declined sharply from 70 per cent over the past two years to only 40 per cent today, because of the bird-flu situation. About 60 per cent of our business today is from domestic sales," said a company executive who asked not to be named. Thailand's bird-flu problem has seriously impacted fresh-chicken exports, particularly to major markets like the EU and Japan. The source yesterday denied any industry rumours about serious operational and financial problems at Saha Farms.

The source said the company's fresh-chicken exports, particularly to the EU and Japan, had dropped dramatically from between 7,000 and 8,000 tonnes a month to only between 2,000 and 3,000 tonnes of boiled and processed chicken.

He said Saha Farms needed to inject new investment into its main facilities in Lop Buri and Phetchabun, particularly for boiling and processing machinery. The move would increase production capacity for boiled and processed chicken, so it could replace fresh-chicken exports.

"We expect to increase exports of boiled and processed chickens from the current 2,000-3,000 tonnes a month to about 8,000 tonnes in the next year or two. So we have to invest at least Bt1 billion in new boiling and processing machinery to boost that production," said the source.

"We'd like to urge the government to speed up introduction of the compartment system, in cooperation with export markets like Japan and the EU," said the source, adding that under the compartment system, the ban on chicken exports would pertain to selected locations affected by the bird-flu outbreak. Non-affected areas could continue exporting.

He said Japan's Meat and Fisheries Department had already sent questionnaires to the Thai Livestock Department, in a move to apply the compartment system to chicken exports. There has not been any progress on the Thai side.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation