March 3, 2004

Hong Kong Calls For Resumption Of Live China Chicken Imports

Poultry dealers in Hong Kong have threatened to strike next week if the authorities do not resume imports of live chickens from mainland China.

About 400 people in the business, including truck drivers, staged a noisy protest outside the Legislative Council, alleging they were the financial victims of an overcautious government. They also waved signs and shouted slogans.

But Health, Welfare and Food Bureau spokeswoman Sally Kong said the government won't lift the ban on live chicken imports in the near future. However, the government will soon consider resuming imports of chilled and frozen chickens.

Hong Kong has thus far avoided the bird flu outbreak that raced across Asia this year, killing 22 people in Thailand and Vietnam.

The territory, however, has suffered past outbreaks, including one in 1997 that jumped to humans and killed six. Hong Kong officials stopped mainland chicken imports on Jan. 30, saying the ban is a needed precaution.

Lawmaker Wong Yung-kan, who represents Hong Kong's agriculture and fisheries sector, planned to introduce a motion later Wednesday urging the government to resume imports of live poultry as well as chilled and frozen chicken meat from neighboring Guangdong province.

Wong also wants financial relief for chicken dealers and transporters. The Hong Kong Poultry Wholesalers and Retailers Association said last week the import ban has cost the industry more than HK$100 million.

China, Hong Kong's sole supplier of live chickens, has reported bird flu in 16 of its 31 regions.