Poultry scarce after bird flu epidemic
VIETNAM - The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has called on farmers to resume poultry farming domestic fowl stocks decreased sharply due to bird flu.Nguyen Dang Vang, Head of the Animal Husbandry Department under MARD, said that poultry stocks have diminished greatly since bird flu began affecting husbandry in 2003.
The number of chickens, for example, has decreased from 254mil in 2003 to 219mil in 2005, while the number of geese and ducks reduced from 69mil to 60mil. He said that the average growth rate of poultry breeding was less than 1% during 2001 – 2005.
The reduced poultry yield has led to the less trade of poultry products. The total meat supply was 322,000 tonnes in 2005, a modest increase of 1.74%, compared to the average growth rate seen in the 2001 – 2003 period. The total number of eggs was 3.9bil, much lower than the 2003 figure of 4.7bil units. Mr Vang said that continued low poultry yield would lead to sustained high prices.
Source: Vietnamenet
7 June 2006
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