Thuy Dung
Chickens are on sale at a market in Hanoi - Photo: Thuy Dung
At Duong Noi Market in Hanoi, only three of ten chicken stalls were still active on Tuesday, and a vendor named Tran Van Chien said daily sales now ranged between 15 and 20 kilos compared to 60-70 kilos before the bird flu scare.
“Many shoppers are even afraid of coming near the poultry section in the market,” he added.
Nguyen Thi Hoa, a chicken seller at Chuc Son market in Chuong My outside Hanoi, said prices have continuously decreased since Tet (Lunar New Year) in late January up to now.
Latest statistics of the Husbandry Department showed chicken prices have fallen 20% to VND25,000-29,000 per kilo versus early this year. Prices of chicken eggs have also edged down to VND1,200-1,500 apiece compared to the normal VND2,500-3,000.
If the situation is to continue, an oversupply will adversely affect the poultry market, said the Husbandry Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Nguyen Van Trong, deputy head of the department, said along with the waning consumption, traders have used the bird flu scare as a pretext to force poultry farmers to cut prices, leading to a further steep fall in fowl prices.
As of March 3, poultry farms in 22 provinces throughout the country have taken a big hit from the H5N1 bird flu strain.
The virus has killed two people in the country’s south this year – a 52-year-old man from Binh Phuoc Province and a 60-year-old woman from Dong Thap Province. It has left 65 people dead so far, one of the highest fatality rates in the world, according to the World Health Organization.
Đăng ký: VietNam News
