May 31, 2004

Hong Kong Wholesalers May Import Chicken From Malaysia

Hong Kong wholesalers said Thursday they may import live chickens from Malaysia. This is because of restrictions on poultry imports from mainland China due to fears over bird flu.

Even though the poultry influenza appears to have subsided, Hong Kong has maintained a limit of about 30,000 chickens a day to be imported from the mainland.

Wholesalers say 120,000 are needed and the shortfall has led to higher prices.

"This isn't just overreacting. This is being harsh," said Tsui Ming-tuen, head of the Hong Kong Poultry Wholesalers Association.

He said the restrictions are hurting the chicken industry, which lost millions during an outright ban on chicken imports from the mainland earlier this year when the bird flu outbreak was killing millions of poultry across the region.

Tsui said Malaysia has offered to take Hong Kong wholesalers on a tour of the Southeast Asian country's chicken farms to get them to start importing live birds.

Malaysia was not hit by the bird flu outbreak, which killed 16 people in Vietnam and eight in Thailand.

China has traditionally been Hong Kong's exclusive source of live chickens.