Press Releases

Live chicken imports increased to meet New Year demand

        The Government has decided to further relax the import of live chickens from the Mainland to meet the demand for the Lunar New Year.

 

        The decision was made after discussions with the trade and assessing factors including public demand and risk management, a spokesman for the Health, Welfare and Food said today (January 31).

 

        "After reaching consensus with the relevant Mainland authorities, the bureau decides to temporarily lift the ceiling for live chicken imports for the three days prior to the eve of Lunar New Year (February 5 to 7)," the spokesman said.

 

        The spokesman said that the capacity of the retail outlets for live chickens had been notably reduced.

 

        In view of an increase in public demand for live chickens and a quick turnover in live chicken sales during this festive period, the Government would temporarily increase the daily quantity of live chicken imports from the Mainland.

 

        For the protection of public health, relevant departments will allocate resources to maintain the standard of inspection, quarantine and testing on imported chickens. The Government will also closely monitor the supply to avoid an overstocking of live chickens in the retail outlets.

 

        Adjustments to the live chicken supply would be made according to the market demand when necessary, the spokesman said.

 

Ends/Monday, January 31, 2005

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