The outbreak of the H7N9 strain of avian flu has cost China’s poultry sector more than US$1.6 billion (RMB10 billion) in losses in the last two weeks, Reuters reported, citing estimates by China’s National Poultry Association. Prices for high-quality chicken fell to US$0.65 (RMB4) per kilogram, down from an average of US$2.59 (RMB16) per kilogram, due to weaker demand. Fourteen people have died from the H7N9 virus and 63 have been infected, mostly in eastern China, state media reported on Monday. Authorities have slaughtered thousands of birds and closed poultry markets in eastern China. The country is the second largest poultry market in the world, after the US.
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