Winter Olympics Boost Poultry Sales

Sales of chickens and ducks have now rebounded due to the Winter Olympics after dwindling as a result of a fresh bird flu outbreak in Korea.

This is the first time since avian flu broke out at a duck farm in North Jeolla Province on Jan. 17 that sales have picked up, apparently because poultry meal is the most popular snack in Korea while watching sporting events on TV.

In Lotte Mart supermarkets, sales of cooked chicken rose 22 percent, raw chicken 11 percent, duck meat 31 percent, and eggs 23 percent on-year between Feb. 10 -- right after the opening of the Sochi Olympics on Feb. 7 -- until Sunday.

On Feb. 2-8, by contrast, sales of cooked chicken dropped 19 percent, raw chicken 24 percent, duck meat 13 percent and eggs 12 percent, while demand for beef and pork rose.

With major Olympic events televised at night, demand soared for late-night snacks.

Sales of imported beer, fizzy drinks and bottled water also jumped about 10-50 percent on-year.