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Published on December 11, 2007

The delegation, whose visit was arranged by GTZ Thailand under the Thai-German Programme for Enterprise Competitiveness, hoped to use the information to boost confidence among Thai farmers about the potential for exports of organic products to Germany and other European countries.

"The objectives of this meeting between the officials and relevant German government officials are to strengthen Thai organic-product development and exports," said Juergen Koch, country director of GTZ Thailand.

"Thailand's organic produce has a strong potential to grow in international markets, particularly in western Europe, because [products] like rice, vegetables and tropical fruits are in high demand.

"The demand for organic products in developed countries grew by 25 per cent annually during the past five years."

CPF ships first lot of halal chicken

Thailand's largest food producer, Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF), has exported its first 64 tonnes of cooked chicken, worth Bt10 million, to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after being certified for the "Thai Halal" label in June.

Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thira Sutabutra, who presided over the shipping off of the containers of cooked chicken last Thursday, said the certification would boost exports of Thai chicken to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and the Sultanate of Oman.

There are more than 1.8 billion Muslims around the world, but Thailand's share of the halal-chicken market is only 0.01 per cent, he said.

CPF is the first Thai firm to export cooked chicken to GCC countries after the UAE licensed Thailand to export chicken to its markets in September.

Thai chicken exports are expected to reach 320,000 tonnes this year and will grow by 5-10 per cent in 2008, according to Adirek Sripitak, CPF president and CEO.

The Nation