The Health, Welfare & Food Bureau will keep the daily number of Mainland live chicken imports to 30,000 for another two weeks, as it is satisfied with test results during the pilot period.

It said Hong Kong's overcrowded retail markets are not ideal for accommodating large quantities of chickens each day and caution must be maintained, particularly amid recent press reports of another bird flu outbreak in Vietnam.

The bureau will review and evaluate the new import control requirements with Mainland authorities and assess whether changes are necessary.

Deputy Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Eddy Chan and Director of Food & Environmental Hygiene Gregory Leung will meet with officials of the State General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection & Quarantine tomorrow in Beijing.

The importation of live Mainland chickens resumed on April 20 on a pilot basis.