S'pore, KL freeze poultry plans

Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Singapore and Malaysia have postponed plans to import poultry products from Indonesia amid rising worries over the current outbreak of bird flu in the Asian region, according to a government official.

"They were in the process of examining our poultry industry, checking the slaughter houses and disease prevention system. With the current bird flu scare, the examination process might take a longer time," director of the veterinary community of the Ministry of Agriculture, Bachtiar Moerad, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

He said that the two countries postponed their import plans following the death of thousands of chickens on Bali Island over the past three months.

But Bachtiar said that the death was caused by the Newcastle disease, not bird flu, which has hit a number of countries like Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.

Thailand confirmed on Friday that there were bird flu cases in the country, and the government decided to suspend all chicken exports.

Bachtiar, however, said that despite the bird flu scare triggered by the Bali case, exports to South Korea and Japan would continue.

"Japan has asked for clarification about the cause of death of the chickens here. We assured them it was Newcastle disease," he said.

He added that the government would inform other countries as well that so far Indonesia is free of bird flu.

He also said that the ministry would also confiscate and destroy all bird flu vaccine smuggled into the country.

Early this week, the ministry sent a team to China to learn about bird flu. However, Bachtiar said the result of the visit was not yet available.

Separately, chairman of the Indonesian Poultry Breeders Association, Anton J. Supit, told the Post that Indonesian chicken exports were still relatively small, representing less than 1 percent of the total production of about one million tons per year amid huge domestic demand.

Most of the exported Indonesian chicken are chicken fillets and nuggets.

"Most of our poultry production is still absorbed by the domestic market," said Anton.

Asked on measures should be taken by the breeders, Anton said biosecurity measures, such as increased sanitation around the poultry farms, should be taken.

"And both breeders and consumers should not panic or over reacted to the outbreak," he said.

Bird flu first appeared in December last year in South Korea. It spread later to other countries within the region such as Vietnam and Japan. In Vietnam, the disease has spread to human and claimed 13 lives.