January 20, 2006

US chicken exports largely untouched by bird flu

US chicken exporters have no reason to fear the bird flu as the USDA predicts there will only be a slight dip in growth.

The US always had a very strong broiler market and chicken exports may hit 2.45 million tonnes this year, US Department of Agriculture's Chief Economist Keith Collins said in an interview with USDA's radio news service.

USDA lowered its forecast for broiler exports this year by 3.4 percent last week, reflecting consumer reactions to recent bird flu cases in several countries, including Turkey and Romania.

In 2005, US broiler exports stood at 2.37 million tonnes, USDA estimated. There have been no reported cases of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu in the US so far.