SEOUL, KOREA - As bird flu spread throughout the country, poultry exports have declined precipitously. According to a report "February 2014 Food Export Trend" published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs on March 11, the value of exports of chicken and duck meat in January was US$600,000, down 80.9 percent from the same month a year ago when the figure was $3.4 million. The export volume has also fallen 93.9 percent to 200 tons from 2,900 tons in January 2013.

 

Since the first case of avian flu was reported in the south on January 16 this year, scores of farms had to bury their chickens and ducks as a way to keep the epidemic from spreading further. The total number of fowls killed as part of preventive measures has so far been 8.6 million. Park Jong-min, senior manager in charge of export promotion at the agriculture ministry, said, "Since the outbreak of bird flu, the poultry exports have been declining steadily. Not only fresh meat, but also poultry meat products such as packaged chicken soup with ginseng are not selling well overseas."

 

As soon as a case of avian flu occurs, the country's government must report it to the World Organization for Animal Health, after which all exports of poultry meats would be stopped. It usually takes five months for a country to be allowed to sell its poultry overseas.

 

Last year, the total poultry export volume was 22,000 tons whose value was $41.3 million. The industry figured it would lose at least $10 million in export income even if Korea gets back its right to export poultry meat without delay.