EU in talks to lift Thai chicken ban
The news was confirmed by the EC after being announced on Malaysian news website Bernama.com. A spokesperson for Commissioner John Dalli told GlobalMeatNews: “Yes, this issue was discussed at a meeting between Commissioner John Dalli and the Ambassador of Thailand to the EU, His Excellency Apichart Chinwanno, earlier this month.
“The import of uncooked (fresh) poultry meat from Thailand was stopped in April 2004 due to the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks. This import ban did not apply to heat treated (cooked) meat. The EU safeguard measures preventing the import of uncooked poultry meat from Thailand runs until the end of June 2012 unless the Commission decides to prolong them.”
According to Bernama.com, Thailand’s deputy prime minister Kittirat Na-Ranong told journalists that Commissioner Dalli had expressed satisfaction with the state of Thai poultry facilities and food safety measures. However, all EU member states have yet to approve the decision not to renew the ban at the end of June.
Kittirat hailed the progress made in the area and said the lifting of the ban would allow Thailand to restore its shares in the European market and raise demand for Thai produce, Bernama.com added.
Export-dependent Thailand was one of the first countries affected by the bird flu outbreak that spread to over ten Asian regions in 2004. Between January and March 2004, the country culled around 36 million birds, representing 25% of the domestic flocks, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation.
