February 12, 2010

Thailand tightens bird flu measures ahead of Chinese New Year

Livestock officials across Thailand have stepped up bird flu control measures as the Chinese New Year celebrations draw near.

Maha Sarakham's livestock chief Tanet Tawinwang said that local officials have been checking on all 23 participating slaughterhouses by inspecting the health of all poultry both before and after they are processed to make sure that there is no presence of H5N1 bird flu virus.

Meanwhile, in Uthai Thani, provincial livestock officials have spread out to inspect three local chicken farms in the province to assure consumers that it is save to consume poultry during the upcoming celebrations.

On the other hand, prices of chicken and duck are on the rise by THB5-10 (US$0.15-0.30) a kilogramme as poultry vendors claimed that the price increase was due to smaller supplies.

As the demand for poultry has risen ahead of the Chinese New Year celebration, officials from the Buri Ram provincial internal trade office visited local markets to monitor prices of commodities, especially food products.