EU silent on quotas for local poultry
Thailand has so far failed to persuade the European Union (EU) to give a special import quota on its chicken exports after meeting with the EU's representative under World Trade Organisation rules.
The EU has not yet responded to Thailand's proposal to ease its import quota, said Ambassador Puangrat Asavapisit, Thailand's permanent representative to the WTO. The proposal is aimed at carving out a share of Europe's chicken market after the EU earlier announced that it would change its import regulations. Puangrat said Thailand was trying to negotiate for the best concessions possible because processed chicken has historically been one of Kingdom's major export products to the EU. Thai delegates negotiated with EU officials in Geneva early this month. However, the EU has not agreed to Thailand's proposal for a special import quota of 300,000 tonnes per year and a quota increase of 25 per cent in three years. According to the Commerce Ministry, Thailand shipped 106,503 tonnes of processed chicken to the EU, worth 266 million euros (Bt12.6 billion) last year. In the first seven months of this year, Thailand exported 67,555 tonnes of chicken worth Bt7.76 billion to the EU. The industry expects chicken exports to the EU to grow 25 to 30 per cent a year. Puangrat said the second bilateral meeting between Thailand and the EU would be held in Bangkok next month. "Although the EU has its own position to protect its domestic industry, Thailand will ask for the fairest practices under the EU's new import conditions," she said. The EU announced that it would implement a new quota system, which increases import duties on salted chicken, cooked chicken and turkey. Poultry imports within the quota will be subjected to rates of 15.4, 10.9, and 8.5 per cent, respectively. But shipments above and beyond the quota will be subject to tariffs that are 53 per cent higher - or ¤102 (Bt4,858) per 100 kilograms. Thai exporters say the import rules will reduce chicken export growth. The EU is the second-largest market for Thai chicken exports, after Japan. Panya Chotitawan, president of Saha Farms Co Ltd, one of the country's top-three chicken producers, said it would not be easy for Thailand to secure a special quota because the demand runs counter to EU's regulations.
Petchanet Pratruangkrai The Nation
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