Yanjuji (salted roast chicken) and Baicheji (boiled sliced chicken) are two famous, ade-old specialty dishes at Dongjiang Restaurant in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province.

These two typical Cantonese dishes lure throngs of customers and can usually earn the restaurant big profits during the lunar New Year and other major festivals.

But revenues from the restaurant's two major dishes were down at least 30 percent during this lunar New Year, which started on January 22, a manager of the restaurant said last week.

The restaurant usually reaches its business peak period during Spring Festival, which is China's celebration of the lunar New Year.

"Many guests at our restaurant have been ordering seafood, beef, mutton, pork and other dishes this year," the manager said.

Bird flu, which has broken out in many regions of Asia, has affected the restaurant's business, the manager, who declined to be named, told China Business Weekly.

Other major restaurants in Guangzhou that rely heavily on sales of chicken dishes also report slower business since the beginning of this year.

Dongjiang Restaurant has decided to develop more new dishes without chicken later this month to help soften the blow to revenues, the manager said.

Although many residents assert they do not worry about the disease while feasting on traditional festival cuisine, poultry sales in Guangdong have slowed this year.

Sales of poultry have fallen by 50 percent in Guangzhou since last month, and the average price of live chickens has also dropped to about 10 yuan (US$1.20) per kilogramme in Guangzhou's agricultural bazaars.

This figure indicates a decrease of about 20 percent from two months ago.

Mo Hong, a seller of live chickens in Guangzhou's Taojin Agricultural Bazaar, used to sell more than 500 live chickens during the traditional lunar New Year period, earning a profit of more than 4,000 yuan (US$481.93).

But he has sold less than 200 live chickens during the festival this year, despite the cheaper price.

Mo, who had purchased many live chickens, expecting big profits during the lunar new year, now will have to deal with huge losses.

People have even used chicken less than usual this year to worship their ancestors during the biggest Chinese festival, Mo said.

Chen Shaofen, another vendor who sells cooked meat in the agricultural bazaar, complained that sales of cooked chicken have also decreased.

Chen has cut the prices of his cooked chicken, roast geese and ducks from 10 yuan (US$1.20) to 4 yuan (48 US cents) per kilogramme. But he notes his sales of roast pork have increased at least 20 percent this year.

The outbreak of the bird flu has also damaged Guangdong's poultry export business.

Guangdong has been required to cease exports of chicken, ducks, geese, doves and other poultry to neighboring Hong Kong and Macao beginning this month.

Last year, Guangdong exported more than 15 million live chickens to Hong Kong, earning more than 110 million yuan (US$13.25 million) in 2003.

Among the province's 140 registered poultry farms with export licences, 95 are chicken farms, 35 are water fowl farms, while the rest raise doves, quail and other poultry.

Guangdong authorities found suspected bird flu cases in Jiedong and Chao'an counties, in the eastern part of the province, on January 30. Emergency measures were taken immediately after the cases were detected.

(China Bisness Weekly February 17, 2004)