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Poultry sales recover as flu fears ease

Poultry sales have continued a patchy recovery across Europe as a dwindling number of new bird flu cases have shifted the media spotlight away from the virus, calming consumer fears, officials said yesterday.

  • Reuters
  • Published: 23:32 May 3, 2009
  • Gulf News

Paris: Poultry sales have continued a patchy recovery across Europe as a dwindling number of new bird flu cases have shifted the media spotlight away from the virus, calming consumer fears, officials said yesterday.

Sales are still weak in some regions and experts warn that the spring migration of wildfowl from Africa could soon bring fresh cases of deadly bird flu to Europe.

The European Commission has urged farmers to cut back production in order to shore up weak sales, but has yet to offer any financial compensation. Analysts have said the sector was losing up to 300 million euros a month a few weeks ago.

EU governments are expected to draw up rules on measures to support prices next month.

In France, which has a 6 billion euro (Dh26.4 billion) poultry industry, the largest in the EU, sales are now around 7-10 per cent down on last year.

"We've seen a continuation of the improving trend that's been going on for two weeks," Veronique Legoff, spokeswoman for the retail distribution association FCD, told Reuters.

Last week the FCD reported average sales down 10-15 per cent.

Unrest in France over a new job law has kept bird flu off the front pages in a country which is still the only EU member to record H5N1 in a farmed animal.

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