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Source: http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_d...753&con_type=1
Government ultimatum to chicken farmers: Take our $1b or leave it!
Carol Chung
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
The poultry industry has been given an official ultimatum accept a HK$1 billion government compensation package to shut down their businesses or face an uncertain future.
The city's 469 chicken retailers have been told they must decide what to do by July 24 while farmers, wholesalers and transport workers have been given until September 24.
Secretary for Food and Health York Chow Yat-ngok said this was the government's final offer after a meeting of the Executive Council yesterday.
As well as retailers, Hong Kong has 71 wholesalers, 50 chicken farms and 266 transport workers who depend on the trade for their livelihood.
However, if the retailers' accept the buyout deal it will effectively end the businesses of the rest of the sector as well as Hong Kong's culture of cooking live chickens.
The need for central slaughtering by 2011 may also be made redundant.
Chow expressed confidence that most of the retailers will accept the deal which is more than three times the 2005 Voluntary Surrender Scheme.
A lot of the traders said they can't operate under the overnight ban and they are also considering the risk of facing another bird flu outbreak within the next few years, he said.
But, the government will only approve the offer when 90 percent of the trade accepts it.
Another offer will not be tabled in the future before central slaughtering, Chow added.
A source said the government has improved the deal for retailers with an increase of almost HK$100 million or over 20 percent to a total of HK$513 million.
A source said the increase was justified.
"If we terminate the trade's tools for living out of public health concerns, we must be more reasonable in our offer," the source said, adding that no further increase is expected after any future negotiations.
Retailers who choose to resume operation on July 2 must operate under an overnight ban on keeping live chickens in the stalls between 8pm and 5am.
Violators are subject to a penalty of HK$50,000 and six months' imprisonment. The amendments of the law will be gazetted this week and will be tabled at the Legislative Council for negative vetting.
Chow believes the overnight ban will be agreed by lawmakers out of public health concerns.
"H5N1 is not political, we must be scientific in dealing with it," he said.
Chow said the 400,000 chickens which have been held in farms due to the ban and can no longer be sold because they are too old will be compensated for at a rate of HK$30 per bird.
A source said the government fears the recent discovery of the H5N1 virus in the chickens of four wet markets is not a problem of smuggling, but a drop in chickens' immunity against the virus.
Government ultimatum to chicken farmers: Take our $1b or leave it!
Carol Chung
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
The poultry industry has been given an official ultimatum accept a HK$1 billion government compensation package to shut down their businesses or face an uncertain future.
The city's 469 chicken retailers have been told they must decide what to do by July 24 while farmers, wholesalers and transport workers have been given until September 24.
Secretary for Food and Health York Chow Yat-ngok said this was the government's final offer after a meeting of the Executive Council yesterday.
As well as retailers, Hong Kong has 71 wholesalers, 50 chicken farms and 266 transport workers who depend on the trade for their livelihood.
However, if the retailers' accept the buyout deal it will effectively end the businesses of the rest of the sector as well as Hong Kong's culture of cooking live chickens.
The need for central slaughtering by 2011 may also be made redundant.
Chow expressed confidence that most of the retailers will accept the deal which is more than three times the 2005 Voluntary Surrender Scheme.
A lot of the traders said they can't operate under the overnight ban and they are also considering the risk of facing another bird flu outbreak within the next few years, he said.
But, the government will only approve the offer when 90 percent of the trade accepts it.
Another offer will not be tabled in the future before central slaughtering, Chow added.
A source said the government has improved the deal for retailers with an increase of almost HK$100 million or over 20 percent to a total of HK$513 million.
A source said the increase was justified.
"If we terminate the trade's tools for living out of public health concerns, we must be more reasonable in our offer," the source said, adding that no further increase is expected after any future negotiations.
Retailers who choose to resume operation on July 2 must operate under an overnight ban on keeping live chickens in the stalls between 8pm and 5am.
Violators are subject to a penalty of HK$50,000 and six months' imprisonment. The amendments of the law will be gazetted this week and will be tabled at the Legislative Council for negative vetting.
Chow believes the overnight ban will be agreed by lawmakers out of public health concerns.
"H5N1 is not political, we must be scientific in dealing with it," he said.
Chow said the 400,000 chickens which have been held in farms due to the ban and can no longer be sold because they are too old will be compensated for at a rate of HK$30 per bird.
A source said the government fears the recent discovery of the H5N1 virus in the chickens of four wet markets is not a problem of smuggling, but a drop in chickens' immunity against the virus.