Thailand defends transparency of chicken feet export procedures amid Chinese customs review
Thailand’s Department of Livestock Development has defended the transparency of procedures governing chicken feet exports to China. Director-General Somchuan Ratanamangkalanon said the department was ready to answer questions raised during an assessment by China’s customs authority.
Thai authorities respond to Chinese scrutiny
Thailand’s Department of Livestock Development has defended the transparency of the country’s procedures for exporting chicken feet to China following scrutiny by the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, or GACC. The response places regulatory compliance and official communication at the centre of a market-access issue affecting the poultry sector.
Somchuan Ratanamangkalanon, director-general of the department, said Thai authorities were prepared to provide explanations on every point raised by the Chinese side, according to MGR Online. The available report does not specify the questions submitted by GACC, the date of the assessment or whether Chinese officials requested changes to any particular export procedure.
No restriction or suspension disclosed
The report says GACC conducted an assessment and requested clarification from Thailand regarding export information. It does not state that China has suspended imports, rejected Thai consignments or removed any Thai establishment from an approved list. It also provides no indication that the review has produced a final decision.
This distinction matters for poultry processors and traders. A request for information is not itself an import ban, although unresolved questions from the destination country’s customs authority can create uncertainty for exporters. Companies supplying the Chinese market will therefore be watching for confirmation that existing approvals and shipment procedures remain unchanged.
No figures were provided for Thai chicken feet production, export volumes, shipment values, prices or the number of companies affected. The source material also does not identify individual processors, slaughterhouses or exporters involved in the assessment. The immediate issue is consequently procedural rather than a disclosed disruption measured in tonnes or revenue.
Market access depends on regulatory confidence
Chicken feet are a commercially important poultry by-product whose value depends heavily on access to consumer markets that treat them as a food product. Regulatory questions can therefore affect returns across the processing chain, even when the main cuts of poultry meat continue to move through other sales channels. For Thai suppliers, a clear response to GACC is important because importing authorities determine whether establishments and products meet destination-market requirements.
The department’s public emphasis on transparency signals an effort to reassure processors and trading partners while the questions are addressed. However, the information released so far is insufficient to determine the scope, duration or possible commercial consequences of the Chinese assessment. The next material development will be an official account of the points raised by GACC and whether Thailand’s explanations close the review without changes to market access.
