Breeders bemoan slump in sales as reports on bird flu surface
Breeders bemoan slump in sales as reports on bird flu surface
The Jakarta Post, Medan/Makassar/Bandung
Sales of chicken nationwide have been in the doldrums for the
past few weeks with the bird flu virus making the national
headlines, chicken breeders complained on Tuesday.
Hendri, from a chicken hatchery in Medan, said that before the
story on the bird flu virus appeared in the media, he could sell
some 1 million chicks per month.
"But now, I can only sell some 200,000 chicks a week," said
Hendri, who had been sitting idle in his office chair.
His eyes gazed to the street outside the office, waiting for
customers.
A similar story could be found in Bandung, West Java, with
chicken breeders complaining that sales of chicken had dropped by
20 percent over the past four days.
Heri Darmawan, chairman of East Priangan Chicken Breeders
Association that has some 13,000 members, called on government
officials and the media to stop making comments that scared
people. "The comments have scared people so now they avoid eating
chicken, which of course reduces our sales," said Heri.
He was commenting on responses by government officials and the
media on the bird flu issue. Some government officials in the
provinces have said that bird flu has already spread into their
areas and killed chickens, while the media had often reported on
people allegedly infected with the bird flu virus.
According to Heri, the impact of the negative publicity has
been severe for breeders, moreover most of them are small time
operators with less than 2,000 chickens.
Heri assured government officials and the media that chicken
breeders already knew how to avoid bird flu.
"The government conducted research recently in our area, and
there was no reports of the bird flu virus spreading to our
area," said Heri.
While breeders in Bandung and Medan have seen their chicken
sales slump due to the bird flu virus, breeders in South Sulawesi
province complained that their farms had been devastated by the
virus.
Haji Made, a chicken breeder, said that 23,000 of his 60,000
chickens had mysteriously died recently, causing him to suffer
large material losses. Haji Made was forced to lay off four of
his 10 employees. He has also cut the salaries of other workers
by 50 percent in order to survive the situation. The drastic
measures had to be taken as he still had to pay back a bank loan.
"I have borrowed Rp 400 million from the bank to develop the
chicken breeding business and I have to pay Rp 5 million in
installments every month. As the business was down, I had to sell
my cars and a plot of land to pay the installments," said Made,
who has been in the chicken breeding business for 28 years.
Arsyad, another chicken breeder, shared a similar story. His
1,000 chickens, between 22 and 25 days old, suddenly died in at
the end of June and he says they were killed by bird flu.
The Jakarta Post, Medan/Makassar/Bandung
Sales of chicken nationwide have been in the doldrums for the
past few weeks with the bird flu virus making the national
headlines, chicken breeders complained on Tuesday.
Hendri, from a chicken hatchery in Medan, said that before the
story on the bird flu virus appeared in the media, he could sell
some 1 million chicks per month.
"But now, I can only sell some 200,000 chicks a week," said
Hendri, who had been sitting idle in his office chair.
His eyes gazed to the street outside the office, waiting for
customers.
A similar story could be found in Bandung, West Java, with
chicken breeders complaining that sales of chicken had dropped by
20 percent over the past four days.
Heri Darmawan, chairman of East Priangan Chicken Breeders
Association that has some 13,000 members, called on government
officials and the media to stop making comments that scared
people. "The comments have scared people so now they avoid eating
chicken, which of course reduces our sales," said Heri.
He was commenting on responses by government officials and the
media on the bird flu issue. Some government officials in the
provinces have said that bird flu has already spread into their
areas and killed chickens, while the media had often reported on
people allegedly infected with the bird flu virus.
According to Heri, the impact of the negative publicity has
been severe for breeders, moreover most of them are small time
operators with less than 2,000 chickens.
Heri assured government officials and the media that chicken
breeders already knew how to avoid bird flu.
"The government conducted research recently in our area, and
there was no reports of the bird flu virus spreading to our
area," said Heri.
While breeders in Bandung and Medan have seen their chicken
sales slump due to the bird flu virus, breeders in South Sulawesi
province complained that their farms had been devastated by the
virus.
Haji Made, a chicken breeder, said that 23,000 of his 60,000
chickens had mysteriously died recently, causing him to suffer
large material losses. Haji Made was forced to lay off four of
his 10 employees. He has also cut the salaries of other workers
by 50 percent in order to survive the situation. The drastic
measures had to be taken as he still had to pay back a bank loan.
"I have borrowed Rp 400 million from the bank to develop the
chicken breeding business and I have to pay Rp 5 million in
installments every month. As the business was down, I had to sell
my cars and a plot of land to pay the installments," said Made,
who has been in the chicken breeding business for 28 years.
Arsyad, another chicken breeder, shared a similar story. His
1,000 chickens, between 22 and 25 days old, suddenly died in at
the end of June and he says they were killed by bird flu.