January 20, 2015

Taiwan may import chicken if bird flu problem worsens

Taiwan may resort to frozen chicken imports if the bird flu situation in the country further deteriorates, according to Taiwanese Vice Premier Chang San-cheng.

The country's Ministry of Finance would lower tariffs for imported chicken to facilitate deliveries, he added.

Chang said the state-owned Taiwan Sugar Corp. will increase supply of pork to the market to meet demand, which has spiked following the bird flu outbreak that has resulted in the large-scale culling of poultry.

The government, Chang added, will compensate farmers fully if they voluntarily report outbreaks in their farms and cull livestock to control bird flu spread.

However, Chen Bao-ji, chief of the Council of Agriculture, has reassured the public that chicken supply is adequate for the coming Chinese New Year celebrations, which begins February 19. Current chicken inventory, Chen said, is of the same level as that of January last year.

Taiwan's poultry is presently under threat from new bird flu strains which has never appeared in the country previously. This included the H5N8 and H5N3 strains as well as a fresh variant of the H5N2 subtype.