Poultry bazaar takes off in Baiyun
Commercial operation of a large and modern specialist poultry wholesale bazaar formally commenced in Guangzhou on Wednesday, strengthening the southern metropolis' status as a major trading center for domestic fowl on the mainland.
Located in Baiyun District in the northern part of Guangdong, Jiangcun Poultry Wholesale Bazaar (JPWB) will have an annual trading volume of more than 4 billion yuan.
Over 100 million chickens, ducks, geese, quails, doves, partridges and other poultry from around the country are expected to change hands in the bazaar every year, representing more than one-tenth of the province's total, according to Tan Jutian, chairman of the board of JPWB.
JPWB is the largest specialist wholesale bazaar for fowl in Southeast Asia, said Tan.
Spanning more than 120,000 square meters, the bazaar has cost over 40 million yuan. Some 200 poultry raising companies and farms have set up booths at the bazaar.
JPWB is located on the Guangzhou-Qingyuan Expressway and the airport freeway, linking it to major cities on the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao.
Tan believes his bazaar will play a big role in boosting Guangzhou's and the whole province's poultry raising industry and sales of domestic fowl.
The prosperous province of Guangdong is already the country's biggest poultry raising base and one of the largest consumers of domestic fowl on the mainland.
JPWB has so far created more than 1,000 employment opportunities. It has spent over 400,000 yuan in purchasing advanced floating sterilization vehicles and constructing automatic sterilization spraying systems and sewage treatment facilities to ensure better hygienic conditions and prevent outbreaks of bird flu and other animal diseases in the bazaar.
JPWB also includes a healthy inspection center for poultry and special sterilization rooms. Its trading booths will be required to rotate days off monthly for sterilization purposes.
Tan promised only healthy domestic fowl will be sold in JPWB. "Domestic fowl that have not passed health inspection will not be allowed to enter the bazaar," said Tan.
A central slaughterhouse is also being planned in the bazaar, he added.
(China Daily 10/26/2007 page15)
