Sales of chicken and poultry products, which had plummeted in recent weeks following news of the outbreak of bird flu in India, have begun to pick up giving some respite to distressed poultry farmers, president of the Nepal Hatchery Association (NHA) said in Kathmandu Tuesday.

"Poultry products sales have now increased by around 40 percent as compared to three weeks ago when news broke out that bird flu was detected in chickens in some Indian states," Guna Chandra Bista, president of the NHA, a non-government organization, told reporters.

After the slump, sales finally picked up, showing hopes for improvement, Bista said, adding, "We are expecting that sales will return to normal within a month."

According to the NHA, poultry products sales were down by 60 percent immediately after the news of bird flu virus being detected in India.

Around 16 billion Nepali rupees (228.57 million U.S. dollars) has been invested in poultry farms in the country, Bista said.

About 65,000 people are directly employed and around 400,000 people are indirectly involved in the poultry industry of Nepal, he added.

Source: Xinhua