Poultry, egg markets likely to see changes due to outbreak

The poultry and egg market supply in the second and third quarters is likely to be affected due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, a senior official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on Tuesday.

Measures will be made to reduce losses and ensure a normal supply, said Yang Zhenhai, chief of the ministry's Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine Bureau.  

Due to the outbreak, live poultry markets have been closed and the transport of feed, poultry seedlings and live poultry was blocked. Poultry slaughterhouses have been shut down and the consumption of poultry products also fell, he said. 

"The entire poultry industry is suffering," he said. "A company told me they had lost more than 100 million yuan ($14.3 million)."

If the situation continues, it may affect the poultry and egg market supply in the second and third quarters, Yang said.

To ease the problem, the ministry has issued some documents aimed at restoring the normal order of the poultry industry, reducing losses and ensuring  market supply.

Yang said key large-scale poultry companies that have large output, account for a high industry ratio or are severely affected will enjoy special loans and discount interest support.

Channels of poultry sales will be set up, because the relationship between the origin of the novel coronavirus and poultry has been preliminarily excluded, he said.

The ministry will coordinate relevant departments to implement classification management of live poultry markets and organize slaughtering factories to dock with poultry farms, Yang added.

He said more technical guidance and services will be given to poultry farms to improve their breeding management and biological safety protection level.

Efforts will be made to solve the problems of feed shortage, seedling transportation and poultry product sales, he said.