hankyoreh

With no further avian influenza cases in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, sales of chicken meat have seen an upward curve after showing a dramatic decrease.

According to the chicken meat and large discount mart industries on December 10, shortly after the avian flu outbreak that took place in Iksan on November 25 was confirmed as highly-virulent strain, sales of poultry meat dropped up to 40-50 percent. However, sales have recovered to normal levels, they added.

BBQ, the nation's biggest chicken franchise, said that sales of chicken meat decreased there about 15-20 percent since the outbreak last month, but then sales increased gradually and recovered to the level of last year on December 7. Kyochon Chicken, an affiliate of Kyochon F&B, has also witnessed sales recovering to around 80 percent of the usual level after dropping to about 60 percent of the norm until the end of November.

Kim Yeong-jin, an official of BBQ, forecast that "Unless further avian flu cases occur, total sales in the industry will return to ordinary levels around the Christmas season.''

At large discount malls, too, the sale of chicken meat is showing a slow recovery.

Hanaro Mart, owned by the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, says that sales of chicken meat and eggs dropped about 15-20 percent, but has begun to return to levels before the outbreak of the bird influenza. According to E-Mart, the nation's leading discounter, operated by the Shinsegae Group, sales of chicken meat decreased nearly 20 percent late last month, but the downward tendency stopped this month.



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