4 The future trend of Thailand’s poultry sector
The HPAI outbreaks have been the most important factor shaping Thailand’s poultry sector
in the past few years. The outbreaks have also hit smallholders very hard, resulting in
many leaving the industry altogether. However, strong and devastating as it has been, HPAI
is unlikely to determine the future of Thailand’s poultry industry. This is because structural
change is almost complete and is unlikely to be reversible.
The Thai broiler industry will continue to move towards higher levels of industrialization
and more vertical integration – most large integrated firms will include food processing
as a part of their operation. Further industrialization and vertical integration will make it
easier for the poultry industry to comply with the foreign importers’ food safety and animal
welfare requirements.
The trend towards further processing of poultry (cooked and semi-cooked products) –
now included as part of the operation of many integrated firms – may increase employment
in the poultry sector. However, additional employment in the integrators’ farms will be very
limited, as many are now fully automated. Moreover, any new employment will be created
at the expense of smallholders whose room to operate as self-employed broiler farmers will
be increasingly curtailed.
As the sector returns to “normal” business, its future will be shaped mainly by basic
drivers, such as feed supply and demand. Another significant trend may be that movement
towards replacing chemical protection (antibiotics, antiseptics, or even vaccination) with
biosecurity and compartmentalization will shift the industry further towards integrated
industrialization
4 The future trend of Thailand’s poultry sectorThe HPAI outbreaks have been the most important factor shaping Thailand’s poultry sectorin the past few years. The outbreaks have also hit smallholders very hard, resulting inmany leaving the industry altogether. However, strong and devastating as it has been, HPAIis unlikely to determine the future of Thailand’s poultry industry. This is because structuralchange is almost complete and is unlikely to be reversible.The Thai broiler industry will continue to move towards higher levels of industrializationand more vertical integration – most large integrated firms will include food processingas a part of their operation. Further industrialization and vertical integration will make iteasier for the poultry industry to comply with the foreign importers’ food safety and animalwelfare requirements.The trend towards further processing of poultry (cooked and semi-cooked products) –now included as part of the operation of many integrated firms – may increase employmentin the poultry sector. However, additional employment in the integrators’ farms will be verylimited, as many are now fully automated. Moreover, any new employment will be createdat the expense of smallholders whose room to operate as self-employed broiler farmers willbe increasingly curtailed.As the sector returns to “normal” business, its future will be shaped mainly by basicdrivers, such as feed supply and demand. Another significant trend may be that movementtowards replacing chemical protection (antibiotics, antiseptics, or even vaccination) withbiosecurity and compartmentalization will shift the industry further towards integratedindustrialization
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