The Irish Farmers Association has rejected a report in the Irish Farmers Journal that poultry consumption has dropped here by 20 per cent in the last 10 days because of avian flu.
IFA president Pádraig Walsh said yesterday this had not been the experience of producers.
Mr Walsh said it was possible there had been a fall off in demand for imported chicken and this could be as high as 10 per cent, but Irish egg and poultry producers were not reporting a drop in demand.
Agriculture sources indicated yesterday that poultry processors, who are currently negotiating new rates with producers, may have a vested interest in exaggerating the decline in demand.
Last month research carried out for the food board showed the volume of fresh/frozen poultry purchased by Irish households during the year ending January 1st, 2006, was 8 per cent below year-earlier levels at 34,900 tonnes, valued at €1.02 billion.
The report said both turkey and chicken contributed to the drop, with turkey purchases down 26 per cent at almost 4,800 tonnes, while chicken showed a decline of almost 5 per cent to 29,800 tonnes, marking a continuation of a longer-term trend.
A random telephone check of seven multiple retail grocery outlets across the State which were open yesterday, indicated that while there had been some fall off in demand for poultry products, it had not been particularly large. Some stores reported increased sales on foot of special promotions of poultry meat.
As China reported the death of a 32-year-old man from bird flu, its 15th and the world's 94th death from the disease, Poland reported it had found the disease in two dead swans.
The impact of the spread of the disease on poultry consumption in Europe has been dramatic and France, the EU's largest poultry producer, claims that losses are running at €40 million a month .
The German poultry industry has reported a 20 per cent drop in consumption which has cost its producers €140 million.
In Greece, where more cases of the disease have been confirmed in wild birds, poultry sales were reported to be down by 80 per cent. In Italy, consumption of poultry has dropped by 50 per cent during the past fortnight.
The Netherlands and Britain have embarked on promotion of poultry to offset what is believed to be a 5 per cent drop in demand.
The expert group established by the Department of Agriculture and Food in Dublin to advise it on avian flu will meet later in the week, when the European Commission may have ruled on more flexibility for organic farmers who may have to house their birds longer than 12 weeks, after which organic status is forfeited.