A new breed of chicken could be the result of an agreement between Japan’s Eco Heads Corp. Ltd. and the Brazilian research organization Embrapa Suínos e Aves.
Following a visit of Eco Heads’ president and director Tadeshi Shimizu to Embrapa’s facilities the possibility of mixing Japanese Jidori genetics with Brazilian genetics is being explored. “In Japan, there is a species called Jidori," said Analyst Marcio Saatkamp. "They want to use 50 percent of the lineage of this product with 50 percent of the genetic material of Embrapa to create a new species.”
Following the earthquake and tsunami that occurred in March 2011, chicken production has been affected and prices have been rising. "They are experiencing shortages and high prices, so they decided to look outside of Japan for some help in improving production and opted for Brazil as it is such a major chicken exporter," said Saatkamp.
