March 10, 2004

Hong Kong To Resume China Frozen Chicken Imports

The Hong Kong authorities have relaxed a ban on China chicken imports, allowing poultry dealers to bring in frozen chickens, but the government said Wednesday it won't agree to demands that it lift a ban on live imports imposed during Asia's bird flu outbreak.

Chicken traders and transporters who are losing millions of dollars protested outside the Legislative Council as food and hygiene officials announced frozen chicken meat from China can return to the market in about two weeks.

Many Hong Kong people insist on buying chickens live in markets and slaughtering them on the spot, and industry officials complain that their business can't recover without a new supply of live birds from China.

The sales of chicken from China were cut off in January as Asia was hit by a bird flu crisis that crossed into humans in Thailand and Vietnam, eventually killing 22.

Hong Kong has avoided this year's outbreak. But officials have been extremely cautious, following the devastation brought by last year's SARS epidemic and a previous bird flu outbreak here that killed six people in 1997.

The recent bird flu epidemic struck 16 of China's 31 regions.

But Health, Welfare and Food Bureau spokeswoman Sally Kong said the imports of frozen chicken meat can resume because the disease appears to have let up in China, which hasn't reported any new cases in about a month and officials believe frozen birds are safe.

But Kong said there are no immediate plans to lift the ban on live chicken imports from mainland China - Hong Kong's only source for the birds.