Since March, 130 people have been infected with the H7N9 flu, with 35 deaths, sending shockwaves throughout the poultry industry. Government officials blames poor sanitation in farms. In Shandong, the authorities organise an all-chicken lunch to boost consumer confidence.

Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) - China's poultry industry has lost more than US $ 65 billion as consumers shun chicken following a human H7N9 bird flu outbreak that infected 130 people, killing 35. Poultry was by far the favourite food in Chinese households.

Last year, China produced 18 million tonnes of poultry meat, 20 per cent of Asia's output. The industry, already hit by a devastating series of food scandals, now appears on the verge of collapse, especially after avian flu-related deaths were recently reported in Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia.

For poultry producers, the drop has been catastrophic, with losses averaging a billion yuan a day since the end of March, the Beijing Times said, citing Li Xirong, head of the National Animal Husbandry Service.

An Agriculture Ministry official, Wang Zongli, said government agencies should set a good example for the public by treating "poultry products in a correct way" to prevent outbreaks. Health authorities have warned that the virus spreads through contact with animals.

However, rather than improve quality controls, in a stunt to boost confidence, officials and poultry business leaders in the eastern province of Shandong held a widely reported all-chicken lunch last week to show that locally-produced poultry was good for human consumption.

 

• china
• poultry
• avian
• flu
• sales
• collapse