|
Bird flu threat ruffling shuttlecock feathers
(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-03-15 06:22
"We have had to increase the price, and that's due to processes that have had
to be put into manufacturing to make sure that the feathers are okay," said one
Yonex spokesman. "It has made the process more complicated."
The price increases are yet to have their full impact on badminton clubs, who
tend to buy their shuttlecocks in bulk at the beginning of the season.
"It will hit clubs with a bigger bill at the beginning of next season," said
Eric Brown, chief executive of Badminton England. "Most clubs order their
shuttles around July and August. It will start to hit them then."
Feather farmers
The majority of shuttlecocks are produced in China's factories which either
cut and clean the feathers themselves or buy feathers prepared by feather
farmers.
Changing dietary habits in China have also contributed to the growing
shortages of goose feathers.
"Chinese people nowadays are tending to move away from eating goose to eating
duck, and that has affected the farming of goose feathers," Little of Yehlex
said.
Natural problems such as droughts and floods in various parts of China over
the last few years have also led to a shortage of birds.
Increased labour costs and a growing internal market for shuttlecocks in
China have added strain to prices.
"China has also started consuming shuttles now... so this has put a new
pressure on the supply of feathers," said a Yonex spokesman. "A whole new market
has opened up, as the Chinese start to consume their own products as opposed to
just exporting."
The International Badminton Federation said they were encouraging research
into developing more advanced plastic copies resembling the feather
shuttlecocks, which could be used in the event of a serious shortage.
"We're trying to move towards plastic shuttlecocks," a spokeswoman for the
federation in Kuala Lumpur said. "We're hoping to find an alternative as soon as
possible."
|
