Japan will likely import 5,000 tonnes of raw chicken meat from Thai exporters this quarter after Tokyo lifted its 10-year ban on fresh poultry from here.
The country agreed late last year to resume imports after no reports of avian flu among Thai poultry for many years.
Phaisilp Voravisutthikul, a vice-president of CP Merchandising Co, said the export volume could reach 80,000 to 100,000 tonnes by the end of this year but it will take several more years to reach 200,000 tonnes, the level Japan purchased from Thailand before the bird flu outbreak in 2004.
He said Japan had since been importing chicken meat from Brazil, with a volume of 350,000 tonnes last year.
Mr Phaisilp said some Japanese importers have switched to place orders with Charoen Pokphand Foods Plc (CPF) instead of Brazil.
Shipments from Thailand take only 7-10 days compared with two months from Brazil.
Chatree Rachatasomboon, senior vice-president of CPF, said the company has installed an automatic cutting machine and other machinery to dice and debone chicken to serve demand from Japan.
Japan's government certified Thailand's food safety standard on raw chicken last month. It will resume imports by late this month.
After the avian flu outbreak in 2004, Japan and Europe, two major importers of Thai chicken meat, imported only cooked chicken products from Thailand at more than 200,000 tonnes a year.