Poultry industry losses Rp 700b so far this year

Poultry industry losses Rp 700b so far this year

Fitri Wulandari, Dow Jones, Jakarta

Indonesia's poultry industry has suffered losses of up to Rp 700 billion (US$68 million) due to a drop in sales of poultry products since the first bird flu-related human death in the country in July, an industry official said on Friday.

But a decline in cases of H5N1 avian flu infection in poultry stock has kept losses a lot lower than the estimated Rp 7 trillion loss suffered by the industry in 2004, said Don P. Utoyo, chairman of Indonesian Poultry Community Forum.

"We estimate losses between Rp 600 billion and Rp 700 billion since the first avian-flu human deaths in July due to a drop in prices and lower sales of poultry products," said Utoyo at a news conference.

The drop in sales has been limited to Jakarta and surrounding areas, where most cases of avian flu infection in humans have occurred, he said.

"Poultry sales in other regions remain normal because consumers aren't affected by the publicity of avian flu cases," he said.

The Poultry Market Information Center has said that Indonesia's poultry consumption fell only 5 percent from a daily average of around 2,800 metric tons after the government confirmed the fourth human death linked to avian flu this month.

That's only a fraction of the nearly 30 percent decline in the then daily consumption of 2,500 tons when the first avian flu related human deaths were confirmed in July.

I Nyoman Kandun, director general of communicable disease control at the Ministry of Health, said on Friday that Indonesia has had 70 human cases under observation for suspected avian flu, but most have proven negative.

Utoyo said the low number H5N1 avian flu infection cases in poultry stock have cushioned the industry from greater losses.

The number of poultry killed by avian flu between January and September 2005 stands at 1.2 million. In 2004, 5.3 million fowl were culled due to the avian flu outbreak.

Avian flu in Indonesia has spread to 22 provinces and killed more than 10 million birds since 2003.

Indonesia does not export poultry products, making domestic consumption critical for the poultry industry. The industry generated revenue of Rp 37.5 trillion in 2004 and employs 2.5 million workers who support the lives of 10 million people.

Poultry is a key animal protein source for Indonesia's 220 million population, of whom 80 percent are Muslim and are refrain from eating pork.