Thai opposition lawmaker seeks clarity on reported Chinese poultry import request
A Thai opposition lawmaker has asked the agriculture minister to clarify whether Thailand is considering imports of Chinese poultry products. He warned that lower-cost supplies could pressure domestic prices and affect farmers, slaughterhouses and processors, but no market-opening decision was reported.
Lawmaker raises concern over possible market access
Thai lawmaker Piyawat Kittithanesuan has called on Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit to explain whether Thailand is considering opening its market to poultry products from China. The request followed Suriya’s return from a visit to the People’s Republic of China, according to Daily News.
Piyawat, a member of parliament for Nakhon Nayok and deputy spokesperson for the Kla Tham Party, said he had received information that China’s General Administration of Customs, known as GACC, had expressed an interest in exporting several categories of poultry goods to Thailand. He said the issue was also raised during the minister’s visit.
The products identified by the lawmaker include frozen poultry meat, cooked poultry meat and poultry by-products such as chicken liver and chicken feet. Daily News did not report any approved import protocol, shipment volume, tariff arrangement, start date or agreement to admit these products. The account therefore concerns a request for regulatory information and possible market access, rather than a confirmed opening of the Thai market.
Two reported letters sought Thai import conditions
According to Piyawat, GACC sent two letters to the permanent secretary of Thailand’s Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives. The letters reportedly asked the Thai side to provide the requirements and conditions applicable to exports of Chinese poultry products to Thailand. He said the correspondence had prompted concern that the government might be reviewing an import opening.
The report did not provide the dates of the two letters or disclose their text. It also did not identify any Chinese poultry producer, processing plant or exporter seeking approval. No response from Suriya or the ministry was included in the source material, leaving the status of any technical or political discussions unclear.
Market access for poultry generally depends on detailed sanitary, veterinary and food-safety requirements, but the report did not specify which Thai procedures China had asked about or whether any assessment had begun. There was also no information on eligible facilities, product certification, disease controls or inspection arrangements.
Domestic supply chain cited as vulnerable
Piyawat warned that imports with lower production costs could put downward pressure on Thai poultry prices and weaken the competitiveness of domestic operators. He said the effects could extend across several hundred thousand farming households and through the wider chain, including small farmers, commercial farms, slaughterhouses and processing plants.
The lawmaker asked the minister to disclose the details of talks between Thailand and China, including whether any agreement or commitment had been made and what measures would protect Thai farmers if access were granted. His intervention puts the focus on transparency and safeguards, but the available report provides no evidence that imports have been authorized. For producers, processors and traders, the next material development would be an official Thai statement on whether a risk assessment or market-access procedure is under way and, if so, which products it covers.
