Sunday, November 27 2005 17:03 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Tokyo: A Japanese trading firm will start importing chicken from India early next year after shipments from traditional suppliers such as China and Thailand were banned following a bird flu outbreak, a news report said today (Nov 27,2005).

Marubeni Corp, which has relied on Brazilian chicken since the latest round of bird flu hit the region in 2003, aims to expand its supplier base, national broadcaster NHK reported.

Tokyo last week approved imports of chicken products from India, and Marubeni will begin receiving shipments early next year provided the Indian farms meet the company's quality and safety standards, according to NHK.

Another major trading company, Itochu Corp, started importing poultry products from Chile and Argentina earlier this year, NHK said.

Officials at Marubeni and Itochu could not confirm the report today.

Japan is looking for new sources of poultry meat after it banned imports from more than a dozen nations where bird flu has struck, including Thailand and China. Japan imported about 525,000 metric tons of poultry in 2004, according to the Japan External Trade Organization.