January 30, 2004

 

 

Australian Chickens In High Demand Following Asian Bird Flu

 

The Asian bird flu outbreak has sparked buyers' interest in Australian chickens, industry sources said Friday. With the suspension of chicken imports from many Asian countries, the number of inquiries to buy chickens in Australia has risen considerably.

 

Australian cattle producers are already cashing in on the shortfall in beef supplies to countries like Japan because of the mad cow disease scare in the United States and chicken producers would be happy to follow suit.

 

Egg producer Stuart Robertson, of Golden Eggs in Western Australia, said that in the last few days he had been receiving calls from Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia at the rate of three or four an hour by email or by telephone.

 

"They're sounding desperate, and I think what they're doing is their homework initially to find out what the supply would be like if the crunch really came that they needed these eggs," Robertson said. 

 

"So they're putting things in place to make sure that they have supply."

 

But he said the problem for many Australian producers, even the few already involved in exporting, is that they would have difficulty meeting the demand in the short-term.

 

However, other producers say they would happily export to Asia, even if it meant a rise in the price of chicken at home.

 

At the moment, about 440 million chickens are produced to meet domestic demands, with little or nothing going to Asia but the feet, which do not suit Australian tastes.

 

But Australian Chicken Growers' Council president Len Brajkovich said although little chicken meat is exported at the moment, that could change quickly.

 

He predicted if Asian buyers offered higher prices Australian producers would be likely to take the opportunity to make better profits because domestic prices have fallen in recent years.

 

"I think the consumers had it too good for too long when it comes to chicken meat," he said.

 

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said this week that Australian health authorities are confident the virus would not have a health impact in Australia.

 

But Treasurer Peter Costello warned it could cause some economic damage, particularly to the tourism industry similar to the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) outbreak last year.