Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF) has exported its first 64 tonnes of cooked chicken, worth Bt 10 million, to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after being certified for the “Thai Halal” label in June.
Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thira Sutabutra, who presided over the shipping off of the containers of cooked chicken last Thursday, said the certification would boost exports of Thai chicken to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and the Sultanate of Oman. There are more than 1.8 billion Muslims around the world, but Thailand’s share of the halal-chicken market is only 0.01 percent, be said.
CPF is the first Thai firm to export cooked chicken to GCC countries after the UAE licensed Thailand to export chicken to its markets in September. Thai chicken exports are expected to reach 320,000 tonnes this year and will grow by 5-10 percent in 2008, according to Adirek Sripratak, CPF president and CEO.