Chicken meat for sale at a market in Bangkok (Photo: VNA) Bangkok (VNA) - Thailand’s chicken meat exports are expected to rise 10 percent this year, boosted by higher demand amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
President of the Thai Broiler Processing Exporters Association, Anan Sirimongkolkasem, was quoted by local media as saying on April 23 that chicken exports are estimated to rise by 33 billion THB (1 billion USD) this year to 140 billion THB (4.32 billion USD).
Foreign orders may decline in the second and third quarters, however, due to the lockdown measures introduced by several countries, including the US, the EU, and Japan, to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Thailand shipped 229,572 tonnes of chicken meat in the first quarter, up 2.7 percent year-on-year and worth 881 million USD, up 7.2 percent.
Japan, a leading buyer of Thai chicken, is expected to buy even more as rival Brazil faces an escalation in COVID-19 cases.
According to Thailand’s Minister of Commerce Jurin Laksanawisit, the COVID-19 outbreak may disrupt transport and logistics systems or result in higher costs thanks to stricter safety measures, but many countries remain interested in importing Thai chicken thanks to the country’s effective measures in handling the COVID-19 outbreak./.
