New bird flu cases have no effect on poultry market<\/p>\n
Zakki P. Hakim, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The reemergence of bird flu cases in some parts of the country
\nhas not depressed the local poultry market, as consumers seem to
\nbe more confident now with the precautionary measures taken by
\nthe government, according to an industry expert.<\/p>\n
Director of publicly listed poultry company PT Sierad Produce
\nFX Awi Tantra said that the price of chicken remained stable,
\nunlike earlier this year when the first outbreak hit the country.<\/p>\n
"The cases are now isolated and localized, unlike during the
\nlast outbreak," he told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.<\/p>\n
The current price of chicken is Rp 8,000 (US$0.89) per
\nkilogram, he pointed out.<\/p>\n
In comparison, the price plummeted to around Rp 4,000 per kg
\nwhen the first outbreak emerged as people avoided eating chicken
\nand eggs due to fears that they might be eating contaminated meat
\nand be infected by the disease.<\/p>\n
"We now have a thorough vaccination program and biosecurity
\nmeasures," he said.<\/p>\n
Awi said that the latest cases mainly hit small farmers who
\nhave 1,000 chickens at the most on their farms.<\/p>\n
"Such a small (chicken) population will have no significant
\neffect on the market," he said.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Agriculture said last week that at least 1,700
\nchickens had died as a result of avian influenza in Tulungagung
\nregency, East Java, since June. The ministry also reported that
\n3,100 chickens died in Demak (East Java), Purworejo (Central
\nJava), and Gunung Kidul (Yogyakarta).<\/p>\n
All these areas are among the 95 regencies in the country that
\nexperienced a bird flu epidemic earlier this year that killed
\nmillions of chickens.<\/p>\n
Carelessness on the part of farmers has been seen as the main
\nreason for the reoccurrence of avian influenza in previously
\ninfected areas, according to the ministry and local poultry
\nindustry. Many farmers had tended to neglect the importance of
\nsanitation, which is an important factor in containing the virus.
\nSome of the breeders were also not disciplined in vaccinating the
\nchickens.<\/p>\n
But the government has taken measures including distributing
\n300 million vials of vaccine across the country since the middle
\nof the month.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, chairman of the Association of Indonesian Poultry
\nBreeders Anton J. Supit hopes that the public will not overreact
\nto the reemergence of bird flu as it could eventually affect the
\npoultry market and hurt the income of small farmers.<\/p>\n
"It is all about image. People would refrain from eating
\nchicken, and eventually it would reduce consumption," he said.<\/p>\n
Anton, however, could not tell whether the current media
\ncoverage of the reemergence of bird flu cases here had caused the
\nprice of chicken to drop in the market.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged, however, that the start of the school year
\nlast week had put pressure on the price of chicken as people
\nlessened meat consumption to pay for school fees and other
\nschool-related items.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza
\nswept across Asia, ravaging the poultry industry and killing 24
\npeople in Thailand and Vietnam. More than 100 million chickens
\nand ducks across the region were culled to help curb the spread
\nof the disease, including some 4.7 million chickens in Indonesia.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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