Taiwan is considering whether to offer subsidies to duck farms where thousands of birds had to be culled because of an avian flu outbreak, a quarantine official said Wednesday.

Hsu Tien-lai, director-general of the Council of Agriculture's Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine, said that the bureau was considering a proposal to set up a fund to finance the subsidy program.

He was responding to a call for help by an association of duck exporters after it reported recently that local exporters have suffered NT$800 million in losses due to a drop in exports of about 5 million ducks since bird flu outbreaks erupted in Taiwan in 2004.

Regulations stipulate that duck exporting countries and regions - including Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore - that are affected by bird flu can apply to resume exports of ducks only after there are no new cases reported in those regions for three months, Hsu said.

The applications must be reviewed and approved by importing countries, according to Hsu.

Hsu expressed reservations over the association's request for full subsidies, saying that was not in line with international practice.

He said the Australian government provides subsidies to poultry farms hit by H5 and H7 strains of bird flu based on the seriousness of the outbreak. For those affected by highly pathogenic types of the virus, the government will provide up to 80 percent subsidies to cover losses, with the farmers shouldering the remaining 20 percent, Hsu said.

The government and farm operators would have to reach an agreement on terms for the loss-sharing deal and write them into regulations and contracts before the fund could be established, Hsu added.

In related news, the Pingtung County government announced Wednesday that it will offer hydrogen peroxide testing kits free of charge starting today in an effort to keep contaminated poultry from entering the market.

Although no chicken and duck meat containing restricted levels of the germicide have been reported in the market in recent years, the county will continue to give out the test kits this year, the government said.

This year, 680 dropper bottles for measuring concentrations of hydrogen peroxide will be distributed, it said.

The consumption of excessive levels of hydrogen peroxide can cause headaches, nausea, skin eruptions and erosion and bleeding of the stomach and esophagus.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 04/01/2010 page6)