Up to 30,000 live chickens will be back in market stalls today after the all-clear from authorities investigating the outbreak of H5N1 bird flu on a Yuen Long farm 21 days ago.
The outbreak, the first on a local farm since 2003, killed 285 chickens within 24 hours on December 8 and resulted in the culling of 68,000 chickens and 26,000 eggs at the farm.
The Food and Health Bureau on Sunday gave the all-clear for the import of live poultry, including day-old chicks and pet birds, as well as live-chicken sales from today.
About 7,000 birds from Huizhou and Zhuhai in Guangdong were imported yesterday and arrived at the Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Poultry Wholesale Market at about noon. Combined with the supply of live chickens from local farms, 20,000 to 30,000 birds would be available today, Hong Kong Live Poultry Wholesale Association chairman Tsui Ming-tuen estimated.
Live chickens will be sold wholesale for HK$18 to HK$20 per catty (600 grams), similar to the price before the ban. This would translate into a retail price of HK$26 to HK$32 per catty.
'We [chicken vendors] see hope and a beam of light,' Mr Tsui said.