June 4, 2008

Duck flocks increase by 56 percent in Vietnam's central highland provinces

The total number of ducks in Vietnam's central highland provinces has increased by 56 percent from 32 million, Nguyen Thanh Son of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said.

Ducks have recently grown in number specifically in the southern provinces due to the government's decision on poultry hatch and breeding, the Nong Nghiep Viet Nam reported.

In Mekong Delta, the number of ducks rose 19 percent, while it soared by 36 percent in central coastal provinces.

However, deputy head of the animal health department said that at the start of the year, up to 71 poultry flocks in 21 provinces have been affected by bird flu disease.

The total number of poultry which died or was culled in Vietnam reached 60,000, of which 60.9 percent were water-fowls.