13.12.30Lifting of Ban on Poultry Import from Thailand Expected to Bolster Reefer Cargo Demand

Demand for transporting reefer cargo from Thailand to Japan is expected to grow as Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) on Dec. 25, 2013 lifted a ban on the import of poultry from the Southeast Asian nation.

Imports of fresh and frozen chicken from Thailand amounted to 179,024 tons in 2003, but the government of Japan enacted the ban to take action against the outbreak of avian influenza in many Asian economies. As such, Japan has only imported cooked chicken products from Thailand, and in 2012, imports totaled 222,088 tons, approximately 2.4 times as much as the 90,000 tons in 2003.

Currently, more than 90% of the fresh and frozen chicken that Japan imports comes from Brazil. Now that the ban has been lifted, however, demand for importing chicken from Thailand in reefer cargo is projected to increase. Shipping costs are anticipated to decrease as Thailand is geographically much closer to Japan than Brazil. With imports from Thailand being an option, Japan will be able to diversify the group of countries from which it imports products.