China's top poultry producers continue long-term growth plans despite difficulties

摘要

Despite low profitability and market challenges, China's major chicken producers are adapting and continuing to expand. China's broiler industry has not had a good start to the year. Misplaced consumer fears over media reports about "fast-growing" chickens, together with the inappropriate use of antibiotics, dented consumer confidence in broiler meat and depressed demand badly. And just as things were expected to get better in March and April, avian influenza H7N9 caused further damage to the industry, with consumption declining by some 70 percent—the biggest drop in recent years.