January 30, 2007

H5N1 may cost Indonesian poultry industry 1 trillion rupiah in Q1 2007

Public fears in Indonesia over the resurgence of the H5N1 bird flu may hit consumption of poultry products by 50-60 percent over the first quarter of this year, costing the domestic poultry industry Rp 1 trillion in revenue, a senior official said Monday (Jan 29).

Heightened public perceptions that chicken meat may be dangerous could also have effects on related sectors, such as the restaurant industry, said Deputy Coordinating Minister for the Economy Bayu Krisnamurti.

Indonesia's poultry industry produces about 1 billion-1.2 billion chickens each year, and millions of Indonesians rely on the industry for their livelihood.

"So the potential losses to the economy because of (the H5N1 strain of bird flu) are very high," Krisnamurti said.

There are estimated to be around 350 million backyard chickens throughout Indonesia, many of which are kept outside houses in the capital and surrounding towns.