South Korea removes 11-year ban on Thai poultry

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  Andrea Gantz

  South Korea is ending its ban on poultry from Thailand. The ban has been in place since 2004.

  From WATTAgNet:
  South Korea has resumed imports of fresh chicken from Thailand after an eleven-year ban, Thailand’s Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Petipong Pungbun Na Ayudhya announced.
  South Korea had imposed a ban on Thai poultry because of concerns related to an avian influenza outbreak in 2004.
  The agriculture minister said that the lifting of the ban has prompted a new expectation of a 6 to 7 percent growth in Thai exports of fresh chicken, from 560,000 tons of exported chicken in 2014 to 600,000 tons throughout 2015, worth around THB82 billion (US$2.5 billion) in revenue.
  The ministry had persuaded South Korea to lift its ban. Thailand’s Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha took essential information regarding a chicken export renewal to discuss with his Korean counterpart, during the 2014 ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit in Busan, in order to expedite Korean consideration, said Petipong.
  Now the Thai Embassy in Seoul has been informed that the Korean Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has allowed trade to resume after all risks were carefully assessed. The first poultry exports from Thailand are expected to begin in June.
  According to Petipong, the renewed arrangement would mean South Korea will take back its crown as Thailand’s top importer.