March 7, 2012

 

Bird flu hits chicken, egg vendors in southern Taiwan

 

 

Southern Taiwan's chicken and egg farmers protested on Tuesday (Mar 6) about squeezed profits due to falling egg prices and fewer sales of chickens, after the recent outbreaks of a strain of bird flu at some poultry farms.

 

Chicken vendors in the southwestern county of Yunlin said purchases were down by at least 20%, a result of the outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N2 avian flu in the nearby Changhua and Tainan areas.

 

Egg farmers in the county also complained about shrinking profits thanks to falling prices. A decline in wholesale prices from TWD34 (US$1.15) per 0.6 kilogrammes to TWD31 (US$1.05) per 0.6 kg, combined with a cost of TWD29 (US$0.98) per 0.6 kg, trimmed profits to about TWD2 (US$0.07) per 0.6 kg, farmers said.

 

In nearby Nantou County, where a reported case of H5N2 avian flu has yet to be confirmed to be highly pathogenic, the avian flu has not had any apparent impact on supply and prices, according to a local poultry association.

 

However, Tu Tsung-chieh, chairman of the association, was concerned about an impending impact that might affect 10-20% of supply.

 

In response to public concerns about the safety of eggs for consumption, Tu urged consumers not to panic and said well cooked eggs are perfectly safe to eat.

 

On Saturday, the Council of Agriculture confirmed the first outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N2 avian influenza, which has led to 57,500 chickens culled in Tainan and Changhua.

 

In Taipei, the impact on egg prices remains negligible at the moment, and it remains to be seen if there are any fluctuations in retail prices over the next two to three days, a local egg merchants' union said.

 

Supply has been normal, since the number of chickens culled nationwide so far would only have produced 200 crates of eggs - a minor portion of the daily production of 80,000 crates of eggs, said Hsu Chung-hsin, the union's chairman.

 

Therefore, prices have remained stable, with a wholesale price hovering around TWD36 (US$1.22) per 0.6 kg, Hsu said.

 

However, egg prices will rise should a large outbreak of the bird flu result in a large number of chickens being culled, Hsu warned.