Chinese customs ban importation of frozen chicken legs from five Thai companies

The director general of Thailand’s Livestock Development Department will soon travel to China in an attempt to convince Chinese authorities about the quality of frozen chicken legs, after the products from five Thai companies were banned by Chinese customs officials.

According to the department, several shipments of Thai frozen chicken legs were found by Chinese customs officials to have originated in China, but were smuggled into Thailand and re-exported to China as Thai products. Some of the frozen chicken shipments were also falsely declared as frozen banana or coconut, said the department.

During a recent debate in parliament, on the budget bill for the 2027 fiscal year, People’s party MP Narongdej Ularnkul criticised the Livestock Development Department for its lax controls on the quality of meat products, including frozen chicken legs for export to China, resulting in the ban.

Responding to the opposition MP’s criticism, the department’s director general, Somchuan Ratanamungklanon, explained that the department has not been careless in its inspection process or in the issuance of safety certificates.

He is reported to have told the MP that the department will coordinate more closely with the association of chicken meat exporters and the Thai agricultural advisory office in Beijing to conduct a thorough check of the records of frozen chicken leg export shipments to China to track down the culprits.