Exports of Thai chickens have not been affected by the new outbreak of an avian flu since foreign trading partners are confident of the country's closed farming of the poultry, according to an industry executive.

Chaveewan Kampa, President of the Chicken Raising Promotion Association under the Royal Patronage, was quoted by the Thai News Agency as saying Tuesday that a new round of the bird flu pandemic had not affected the raising and exports of Thai chicken products because Thailand now has experiences in controlling the disease.

Foreign trading partners understand the closed farming system in Thailand which meets the required international standard; and so decided not to ban the import of chicken products from Thailand, she noted.

She said the targeted export of 20 million chickens worth 300 billion baht (7.5 billion US dollars) for the whole year could be maintained if local supply of chickens is sufficient.

However, she conceded, more than 40 per cent of chicken breeds had been destroyed following the outbreak of the avian influenza in Thailand previously.

Because of this, it is expected that the number of chickens raised this year will total only 14-15 million, which are not enough to meet export orders.

It will result in the prices of exported Thai chickens rising by around 5 per cent, she added.

Source: Xinhua