Live-chicken sellers' protest over rising wholesale price benefits no one

Chickens hold a unique place in Chinese food culture. The obsession with fresh chicken has gone to such an extreme that it is guaranteed to make news whenever something goes wrong in the supply chain. As a predominantly Chinese society heavily dependent on mainland livestock supplies, Hong Kong has seen more than enough headlines about such issues over the past decade. The latest boycott of wholesalers staged by some chicken retailers has provided food for thought regarding changes in our eating habits.

The closure of stalls for a week in protest against soaring wholesale prices should come as no surprise. The industry has long warned of "radical" action if the government refuses to relax a four-month ban on live poultry imports from the mainland, triggered by the bird-flu scare in February. Since then, the wholesale price of local chicken has nearly doubled. The retailers were frustrated that they could not raise the retail price as much, saying it would put off customers. But the wholesalers argued that retailers also benefit from the rise and there is no reason to lower the price.

The daily consumption is currently around 20,000 chickens. If the price increase stems from a shortage of supply, a boycott is unlikely to force a price reduction. As the health chief estimated, prices would only ease after the daily supply returns to a higher level after the import ban is lifted. Although the boycott has been shortened to one week instead of until June - when the ban is lifted - it undermines traders' business and reduces consumption. The action is not in anyone's interest.

To reduce the risk of cross-infection, the government has rightly decided to suspend mainland imports pending the construction of new segregation facilities to separate local birds from mainland ones. Until then, people have no choice but to pay more to satisfy their appetite for live chicken. It is good that more people have settled for frozen chicken as an alternative. Unless there is a fundamental change in our culinary preference, the same headlines will appear from time to time.