Local farmers guarantee healthy chicken supply
By Rosli Abidin Yahya

Chicken farmers in Brunei Darussalam said there was definitely no outbreak of bird flu which have affected some countries in the region and stressed that the current supply of chicken will be sufficient for the upcoming festivities of Chinese New Year this January 22 and Hari Raya Aidil Adha next February 1.

The farmers also said that the price of a whole chicken had also gone down from B$4.50 to around $3.50 or $3.60, a price which had stabilised for the past month or so, even though the cost of chicken feed had increased to B$5 a bag.

They said the lower price had nothing to do with the bird flu outbreak that hit countries like Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea and Japan in the past month.

"Chicken consumption stayed at the same rate though the price of a whole chicken had gone down," said one farmer.

"We do not expect a lowering of chicken consumption for the fact that this country is not affected by the bird flu," said another farmer.

Meanwhile, the population is generally confident that relevant authorities would be taking measures to prevent the spread of bird flu into the country.

"Even though there is no reported outbreak of bird flu, stricter regular inspections must be conducted at local chicken farms," said the farmers.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin