The H7N9 bird flu outbreak in China has cost the country's poultry industry more than 40 billion yuan ($6.5 billion), according to Channel NewsAsia.
Government officials said Monday that the sector has been losing 1 billion yuan a day since the end of March as chicken-product sales continue to dwindle and prices plunge due to consumer fears over bird flu.
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More than 100 people in China have been infected with bird flu and 35 have been killed since it was identified in humans for the first time, Channel NewsAsia reported.
According to Wang Zongli, an agriculture ministry official, the government should set a good example for the public by eating more poultry.
