Poultry losses accumulate in China

The losses incurred by poultry-related businesses in China as a result of the H79N outbreak has reached more than 13 billion yuan (€1.6 billion euro), estimates provided by the National Poultry Industry Association show.

Unsold baby meat chicks have so far cost breeders more than 3.7 billion yuan. Demand for imported poultry has also fallen, and sales for both domestic and imported chicken have dropped by 80%.

Authorities have taken measures to slaughter poultry in large numbers and closed poultry markets in Shanghai and Beijing to contain the spread of the H7N9 virus to humans. The national and provincial labs have tested 47,801 samples from 84,444 collected nationwide, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. The 39 positive samples taken from live poultry all originated in the municipality of Shanghai and the provinces of Anhui, Zhejiang and Jiangsu, all of which confirmed cases of H7N9 bird flu.

The outbreak has brought the industry to a standstill; few consumers are willing to buy poultry-related products, which has resulted in a sharp fall in the prices of chickens and ducks and even eggs.

So far, 77 human cases have been confirmed nationwide and 16 people have died, according to Xinhua News Agency.