Vietnam's poultry sales recovering
VIETNAM - After months of plummeting sales, Vietnam's poultry markets are springing back to life, selling chicken and eggs certified virus-free, as avian influenza outbreaks appear to be in check.The first major market to reopen, in Ha Tay province, 15 kilometers southwest of Hanoi, offers chicken and eggs packed in plastic bags and carrying veterinarians' certificates.
"Each day we are selling 400 to 500 chickens, a big change from the mere 100 or so two weeks ago," said Tran Thien Quan, head of the Phuong Hien store in Ha Tay, managed by Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Group.
Some 10,000 poultry had been culled by the company following a bird flu outbreak a year ago, Quan said.
"Come and see our clean poultry and eggs," proclaimed a long red banner atop a store where 20 young workers clad in red overalls, hats and plastic gloves lined five airconditioned glass cages.
Others handed out free samples of roast chicken to some school children. Chicken and eggs have disappeared from markets and restaurant menus across the country over the past few months, with many people shunning poultry products as a result of bird flu.
Source: TheStandard
16 December 2005
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