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A spokesman for the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) said that a meeting with local chicken farmers was held this (July 4) morning. At the meeting, the farmers asked for Government's assistance to deal with their chickens past the average marketable age.
"The chickens in local farms are in good health and of good quality. There is considerable market demand for them. Since the resumption of live chicken sale on July 2, an average of some 23 000 local chickens are sold each day, which is more than the daily average of some 10 000 in the past," the spokesman said.
In view of the temporary ban on dispatching chickens from local farms for 21 days, it is expected that the market price of the chickens past the average marketable age would be affected. Therefore, the Government has put forward a proposal to the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council to provide a grant for chickens past the marketable age, i.e. 85 days or older by July 2, at $30 each to cover the possible difference in prices for local farmers.
"The Government has not imposed any ceiling on the supply of local chickens. The farmers are encouraged to sell their chickens through normal business channels."
"To relieve the overcrowding at local farms and avoid spending more resources on keeping the chickens, we encourage the farmers to consider adjusting the price of the chickens which have passed the average marketable age to expedite the sale, taking into account the grant for these chickens."
To assist farmers to speed up the sale of the chickens, AFCD will provide more frequent testing services. AFCD staff are ready to collect samples and conduct tests for the chickens in local farms daily including Saturday and Sunday to make sure that chickens sent to the wholesale market are free from H5 avian influenza infection.
In addition, AFCD will provide technical support to farmers and send staff to inspect poultry farms. Farmers are reminded to adopt stringent biosecurity measures and ensure good ventilation in their chicken sheds. They should also spray water on the sheds to help lower the temperature.
AFCD will contact wholesalers and restaurants through different channels to encourage them to use more local live chickens.
"We hope that the trade, including wholesalers and retailers, will help farmers sell their chickens past the average marketable age as soon as possible to ease the overcrowding at the farms. We will continue to maintain communication with the farmers", the spokesman said.
Ends/Friday, July 4, 2008
Issued at HKT 23:33
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