Poultry industry lost RM1.5bil
MALAYSIA - The poultry industry lost RM1.5bil in two months due to the bird flu scare, which caused chicken prices to plunge.Federation of Livestock Farmers Associations Malaysia broiler unit head Yap Kim Hwah said bird flu cases reported in Selangor, Perak and Penang in March caused sales of chicken to drop by between 20% and 30%.
“Chicken farmers incurred huge losses and some did not even have money to buy feed or rear new chicks,” Yap said.
There are about 6,000 chicken farmers in the country. In March, the ex-farm price of chicken dropped from its ceiling price of RM4 a kilo to between RM1.80 and RM2.20, which was below the farm cost of RM3.20 a kilo.
Source: The Star
12 May 2006
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