New bird flu cases have no effect on poultry market
New bird flu cases have no effect on poultry market
Zakki P. Hakim, Jakarta
The reemergence of bird flu cases in some parts of the country
has not depressed the local poultry market, as consumers seem to
be more confident now with the precautionary measures taken by
the government, according to an industry expert.
Director of publicly listed poultry company PT Sierad Produce
FX Awi Tantra said that the price of chicken remained stable,
unlike earlier this year when the first outbreak hit the country.
"The cases are now isolated and localized, unlike during the
last outbreak," he told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
The current price of chicken is Rp 8,000 (US$0.89) per
kilogram, he pointed out.
In comparison, the price plummeted to around Rp 4,000 per kg
when the first outbreak emerged as people avoided eating chicken
and eggs due to fears that they might be eating contaminated meat
and be infected by the disease.
"We now have a thorough vaccination program and biosecurity
measures," he said.
Awi said that the latest cases mainly hit small farmers who
have 1,000 chickens at the most on their farms.
"Such a small (chicken) population will have no significant
effect on the market," he said.
The Ministry of Agriculture said last week that at least 1,700
chickens had died as a result of avian influenza in Tulungagung
regency, East Java, since June. The ministry also reported that
3,100 chickens died in Demak (East Java), Purworejo (Central
Java), and Gunung Kidul (Yogyakarta).
All these areas are among the 95 regencies in the country that
experienced a bird flu epidemic earlier this year that killed
millions of chickens.
Carelessness on the part of farmers has been seen as the main
reason for the reoccurrence of avian influenza in previously
infected areas, according to the ministry and local poultry
industry. Many farmers had tended to neglect the importance of
sanitation, which is an important factor in containing the virus.
Some of the breeders were also not disciplined in vaccinating the
chickens.
But the government has taken measures including distributing
300 million vials of vaccine across the country since the middle
of the month.
Meanwhile, chairman of the Association of Indonesian Poultry
Breeders Anton J. Supit hopes that the public will not overreact
to the reemergence of bird flu as it could eventually affect the
poultry market and hurt the income of small farmers.
"It is all about image. People would refrain from eating
chicken, and eventually it would reduce consumption," he said.
Anton, however, could not tell whether the current media
coverage of the reemergence of bird flu cases here had caused the
price of chicken to drop in the market.
He acknowledged, however, that the start of the school year
last week had put pressure on the price of chicken as people
lessened meat consumption to pay for school fees and other
school-related items.
Earlier this year, the deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza
swept across Asia, ravaging the poultry industry and killing 24
people in Thailand and Vietnam. More than 100 million chickens
and ducks across the region were culled to help curb the spread
of the disease, including some 4.7 million chickens in Indonesia.