The volume of chicken slaughters at the largest Belgian chicken abattoirs has fallen by 20 percent to 30 percent after the middle of this week due to bird flu fears.

"We are now largely producing for the deep freeze and are making losses," Mark Vangrembergen, sales representative for chicken abattoir Lintor, told local daily De Tijd on Friday.

Lintor especially supplies large supermarkets and is extremely sensitive to falls in domestic consumption.

Sales of whole chickens, drumsticks, chicken breasts and wings have especially fallen in recent days. Exports to France and Germany have also fallen by a third.

The industry is trying to artificially drive prices up by reducing the hatching of chicks by a third to create a scarcity in supply.

Chicks can be slaughtered after six weeks, so prices might start to rise from the middle of April.

Source: Xinhua