Province's poultry industry hit hard

The H7N9 bird flu outbreak in eastern and northern parts of China has seriously affected the poultry business in Guangdong province over the past weeks.

Prices for chickens, ducks, geese, doves, quail and other domestic poultry have plummeted in many cities in the southern province that is known for its boiled sliced chicken and other chicken dishes.

In Foshan, about 20 kilometers from Guangzhou, the provincial capital, prices for live poultry have fallen by about 50 percent since April 7.

In the city's wholesale markets, a kilo of live chickens has fallen to 4.6 yuan (74 cents) from 10.6 yuan in previous months, according to the Foshan bureau of agriculture.

Compared with previous months, the price of duck fell to 5.4 yuan (from 9.4 yuan) and goose to 11.6 yuan (from 14.4 yuan) a kilo.

"Despite the lower prices, few poultry traders want to buy poultry in the city's wholesale markets because of the slow sales in local agricultural markets," said a senior executive from Fuzhuang Chicken Farm in Foshan.

"Now we lose from 10 to 15 yuan when each bird changes hands, and the company has accrued economic losses of more than 2 million yuan in the past week," said the executive surnamed Zeng.

Meanwhile, around 80,000 newborn chickens have to be destroyed a day because of the slow sales, he added.

At Guijiang Poultry Wholesale Market in Dali township, the largest such market in Foshan, fewer than 100,000 birds were sold on Saturday, compared with more than 150,000 a day in the first quarter of the year.

At Guangzhou's Taojin agricultural market, a poultry trader said sales at her booth fell by at least 10 percent since Tomb Sweeping Day on April 4.