Fish sales up as bird flu spreads

Abdul Khalik and Dyah Apsari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With customers significantly reducing their chicken consumption due to bird flu, small restaurant owners across the capital are putting more fish and meat on the menu to compensate for the loss of sales over the past several weeks.

"We only sold several pieces of chicken yesterday. Based on that experience, we have decided to serve more fish, meat and tofu," Afrizal, 33, a Padang restaurant owner in Slipi, West Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.

He said that his customers have been preferring fish and meat to chicken since news about bird flu broke some three weeks ago.

Anto, 42, an owner of a small Tegal restaurant in Warung Buncit, South Jakarta, also said that he was now offering more seafood, including fish, shrimp and squid, as well as meat, tofu and soybean cake.

He said that although he had assured his customers that he had cooked the chicken properly, they still avoided it.

"Chicken sales dropped by more than half. Previously we sold six chickens every day, but now we only sell two. Most of our customers know that if we cook the chicken properly the virus will die. But I think they just don't want to take the risk," he told the Post.

Many chicken sellers in several traditional markets in Jakarta have been complaining about the drop in sales.

In Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, sellers have asked the government to intensify campaigns to show that eating chicken was safe if cooked properly.

"Previous campaigns were effective in boosting our sales. We want the government to do that again," said trader Samlawi.

At the height of bird flu outbreak in June, several government officials, including Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso, launched a high- profile campaign to show the public that eating chicken was safe.

However, for some larger restaurants that serve chicken as their main dish, the avian influenza issue has had little impact on their sales.

Many said that they had implemented several actions to inform the public that their products were safe to consume and free from the disease.

Adi S. Tjahya, spokesmen for the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) fast food franchise, said: "We've been educating our staff about bird flu, and about the safety of our product. Hence when costumers ask about it, our staff can give satisfactory explanations."

He added that every KFC outlet across the country were hanging giant posters explaining their standardized cooking processes and quality control to ensure that their products were safe for consumers.

Ujang Suganda, an employee at Ayam Kalasan Restaurant, also said that bird flu has had an insignificant impact as every one of the their employees was ready to explain the restaurant's cooking processes to customers.