Japan agreed Thursday to resume imports of heat-treated processed poultry products from Thailand, on condition that Thai plants meet sanitary requirements, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said.

The agreement was reached during a meeting between ministry officials and a Thai government delegation, which is here trying to persuade Japan to lift its import ban on poultry from Thailand in the wake of the bird flu outbreak there, ministry officials said.

Under the agreement, Japan and Thailand will set specific requirements, such as sanitation details and how to heat-treat processed poultry products, they said.

Tokyo will dispatch experts to plants in Thailand to determine whether they meet these requirements, they said.

The ministry is scheduled to hold talks Friday with Chinese officials on whether to lift Tokyo's ban on poultry imports from China.

Japan imported some 220,000 tons of chicken meat in fiscal 2002, most of which came from China and Thailand.

Apple imports eyed

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said Thursday it will review quarantine requirements for apple imports by June 30, possibly paving the way for a resumption of apple imports from the United States.

Ministry officials said the ministry will hold consultations with U.S. experts to review related ministry ordinances.

The decision follows a ruling by the World Trade Organization last year that the requirements are too strict, as claimed by the United States, and run counter to WTO rules.

The WTO's Appellate Body, its highest court, said in a report in November that Japanese quarantine measures against fire blight are too strict.

Fire blight is a bacterial disease that causes infected apple trees to die after showing burn-like symptoms.

The requirements to be reviewed will include inspections at apple farms and a mandatory 500-meter buffer area around apple farms in exporting nations, the officials said.