INDONESIA: Bird flu fears hit poultry sales hard

Poultry sales in Indonesia have been hit hard by consumer fears over bird flu, according to a senior industry figure.

Speaking to the newswire Dow Jones, Anton J.Supit, chairman of the Association of Indonesian Poultry Breeders, said Indonesia’s industrial poultry producers have recorded year-on-year declines of up to 20% since July.

There have been nine human fatalities from bird flu, also called H5N1 avian influenza, in Indonesia.

“People don’t want to eat chicken, that’s the biggest problem for us,” Supit said.