THE bird flu outbreak in Pampanga has not affected hotel and restaurant business in the province, an official of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Negros Occidental (HRANO) said.
Roberto Magalona, director of Hrano, Tuesday, August 15, said they have not monitored any “slowdown” in consumption of menus using chicken and other fowl products as main ingredient.
“The bird flu outbreak in one municipality in Luzon is insignificant to the business operation of food establishments in the province,” Magalona said, adding that “it has not created fear among Negrenses and did not limit them from consuming the commodity.”
On Sunday, the Department of Agriculture (DA) issued the order banning fowl shipment from Luzon to other parts of the country, including Negros Occidental, following the outbreak in San Luis town, Pampanga.
Amid the pronouncement that Negros Occidental is free from the virus infecting fowls, the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) earlier said that “lack of awareness” may still trigger reduction on local consumption.
The PVO has yet to wait for the new market monitoring on Monday to determine the movement in supply, demand, and price of the commodity.
Since the outbreak started Friday, hotels, and restaurants in the province have not yet experienced shortage in supply of both dressed and native chicken.
The province is currently producing seven million heads of native chicken and almost two million heads of broiler or white chicken monthly, records obtained by VoxPop Bacolod from the PVO showed.
The average production has a surplus from the province’s average daily consumption requirement of only 55.32 metric tons for native and dressed chicken, it added.
Although the province is still avian influenza free, the HRANO is still closely coordinating with the government to ensure safety of the future supply.
Magalona said they are urging the government to continue implementing strict quarantine measures, assuring that the private sector, for their part, is also doing necessary precautionary measures in compliance to food safety.
“All hotels and restaurants are using chicken thus, animal diseases like bird flu, if not prevented, would really affect the industry,” he added.
Malacañang urged Tuesday the DA and its attached agency Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to expedite the culling of 200,000 fowls in Pampanga province for the fast recovery of the poultry industry.
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the military can augment additional troops to speed up the clearing of six poultry farms affected by avian flu in Pampanga's San Luis town.
"We sympathize with the plight of our farmers and other sectors in the poultry industry, which are burdened by the drastic measures needed to contain and eradicate our first ever avian flu outbreak," Abella said in a press conference.
"Despite their lack of personnel, we urge DA and BAI (Bureau of Animal Industry) to expedite the various clearing to minimize the losses and hasten the recovery of the poultry industry," he added.
The DA is now in the process of culling around 200,000 poultry heads, including chicken, within San Luis town to avert the possible spread of the virus. (with reports from VoxPop Philippines)
