January 26, 2021
21.7 million poultry culled in South Korea since first bird outbreak in November
South Korea's Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said 21.7 million poultry have been culled across the country since last November last year to stop the spread of highly pathogenic bird flu, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The ministry said there are total of 73 bird flu cases of the H5N8 strain.
The latest case was detected at a duck farm in Hampyeong, about 380km south from the capital Seoul.
Prices for domestic poultry related food items have surged rapidly due to the bird flu outbreak. Since last year, egg prices have increased 24.8%, chicken meat prices up 14.9%, and duck meat prices up 18.1%.
The country aims to import a combined 50,000 tonnes of fresh eggs and seven other egg products until the end of June. These imports are tariff-free.
Bird flu cases traced to wild birds have reached 95 total in South Korea.
- Yonhap News Agency
