Export of live poultry from the Chinese mainland to Hong Kong was normalized as of Thursday after a 23-day trial run of limited supply of the fowl.

It is expected that the daily number of live poultry shipped toHong Kong will soon reach 80,000 to 100,000, the daily standard before the outbreak of the bird flu in the Chinese mainland, said an official with the Shenzhen City Bureau for Exit and Entry Inspection and Quarantine.

The mainland's live poultry exports to Hong Kong and Macao weresuspended after cases of avian influenza were spotted in the Chinese mainland in January. The export of live poultry to Macao was restored on March 5. On April 20, supply of live poultry from the mainland to Hong Kong was resumed after a two-and-half month suspension, but with a daily limit of 6,000.

The official said they had stepped up measures for exit and entry inspection and quarantine to ensure the quality of live poultry supplied to Hong Kong during the trial resumption of the supply of the live poultry.

Some 326,000 head of healthy live chickens were exported from the Chinese mainland to Hong Kong, where a live chicken sells for about 120 Hong Kong dollars because of the limited supply, in the 23-day trial run, according to the official.