Poultry trade feels fallout
NST, 24 Nov 2005

BEIJING, Wed. --- China was struggling today with its 24^th reported outbreak of bird flu this year, as the wider implications of the virus started becoming clearer to those depending on the poultry trade for a livelihood.

As preventive measures were multiplied and bird flu coverage was stepped up in the official media, signs were emerging that chicken consumption was declining fast, state media said.

At three major wholesale markets in Beijing, daily sales of chicken meat had declined 80 per cent since reports  of  this  autumn’s   outbreaks started  rolling in about  a  month  ago,

The First newspaper reported.

“Before, I could sell 909kg of chicken meat a day”, a trader surnamed Li said.

“This morning I received 90kg from my supplier, and I’ve still got 27kg left”.

The catering industry is also feeling the impact.

“Fewer and fewer guests are eating poultry, especially chicken”, said Wang Li, the 36-year-old owner of a restaurant in north China’s Hebei province, according to the China Daily.

Repeating a publicity stunt attempted elsewhere in Asia, politicians in east China’s Jiangsu province decided to publicly consume chicken to show it was safe.

The leadership of the Communist party in Zhenjiang city sat down for a lunch of well-cooked chicken to show there was nothing to be scared of, the China Daily reported. --- AFP.