January 15, 2004

Live Chicken Sales and Prices Stable in Hong Kong

Live chicken sales and prices were stable in Hong Kong on Wednesday despite the bird flu scare in the region.

Stephen Wong Wai-chuen, chairman of the Hong Kong Poultry Retailers' Association, said more than 160,000 chickens were sold in the morning - 40,000 more than usual.

"Sales are increasing these days as chickens are customary dishes at Lunar New Year," Mr Wong said. "As Hong Kong has not had any bird flu case this year, the recent cases [in other Asian countries] have not had any adverse impact on local sales yet."

He said prices remained stable, with wholesale prices ranging from $11 to $13 a kilogram and retail prices from $18 to $24.

Tsui Ming-tuen, chairman of the Hong Kong Live Poultry Wholesale Association, said operations at Cheung Sha Wan wholesale market were normal yesterday and sales had not been affected by the recent outbreaks.

Mr Tsui said strict hygiene measures - such as requiring all vehicles that transport live chickens and chicken cages to undergo sterilisation after each journey - had been imposed on the wholesale market to guard against the threat of bird flu.

As the health authorities in Vietnam suspect the bird flu virus spread from chickens to pigs before making the transition to humans in the latest suspected cases, concerns are growing in Hong Kong about the possibility of transmission between chickens and pigs on local farms.

Wong Kwong-wing, chairman of the Hong Kong Pig Farms Association, said farms had adhered to regulations drawn up by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, which require that chickens and pigs cannot be housed in the same farm.

A department spokesman said their staff would inspect pig farms every month to ensure that they complied with hygiene regulations.