Economy in a flap over bird flu

The fast spread of a new strain of bird flu has put Peng Jinming, a poultry breeder in China's central city of Wuhan, on the grill. His misery is not caused by infection concerns, but frustrations at lost business.

What was felt as a bad omen when he first saw the H7N9 avian influenza reports has become a nightmarish reality. One week on, prices for eggs at his local market slid from 8 yuan (1.2 U.S. dollars) per kg to to 6.4 yuan per kg, a level that hardly covers costs, as demand suddenly dropped.

"I used to have an insatiable desire for more eggs from my hens. But now what I hate most is they are so productive," said Peng.

Annual egg output on Peng's farm can reach 3,600 tonnes, 70 percent of which is sold to neighboring cities. But the target seems unrealistic this year, an issue also troubling another 2,700 breeders who reside in the same poultry farming area as Peng.

The fear of contracting H7N9, which was first confirmed in Shanghai and Anhui, has quickly spread across the nation, shattering demand all the way down the poultry industry chain -- from restaurants to farms, as consumers became more alarmed each day.

China's meat sector, until recently growing at a rate of knots, has recorded losses of more than 13 billion yuan in sales of live poultry over the past two weeks since the first report on the emergence of the virus, data from the National Poultry Industry Association showed on Tuesday.

With one more person tested positive for the H7N9 virus on Thursday morning, the number of infections in China has risen to 83 and the death toll to 17, according to official data.

In the six provinces that have reported infection cases, the government has moved to slaughter birds and close live poultry markets to reduce contact with poultry, the only acknowledged source of the virus so far.

The consumer fear has added further troubles to catering businesses, an important contributor to domestic consumption. They were already being buffeted by the government's recently launched frugality campaign, which has depressed high-end dining.

Special report: H7N9 avian influenza