Thai chicken producers pin hopes on zoning system
Thai chicken producers hit by further bird flu outbreaks have pinned their hopes on a new chicken-raising zoning system, which aims to boost consumer confidence.
Livestock Development Department director-general Yukol Limlamthong said that 24 chicken producers controlling 1,677 farms had agreed to raise poultry under a zoning structure.
This system follows the guidelines of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) requiring farmers to raise poultry in designated areas, facilitating biosecurity standards.
The new system would require poultry-raising facilities to be classified under five zones, with each zone divided into easily manageable compartments.
Compartments have a common biosecurity management system controlling an animal subpopulation with a distinct health status, regarding specific diseases requiring surveillance and biosecurity measures for the purpose of international trade.
According to Mr Yukol, the Livestock Development Department would soon inform the European Union of farm improvements in Thailand. The EU, normally a major Thai chicken importer, recently extended an import ban on live birds until the end of this year.
Teerasak Urunanon, executive vice president, Charoen Pokphand Foods PLC (CPF) has developed 856 farms under the zoning system, while Betagro, according to Dr Nopporn Vayuchote, executive vice president, has already installed the zoning in its 300 farms with a total capacity of 17.5 million chickens every two months.
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