The Malaysian poultry industry has lost RM1.5 billion ringgit over bird flu fears since the country saw a rash of outbreaks earlier in the year, a report said Friday.

A representative from the Federation of Livestock Farmers' Associations of Malaysia, Yap Kim Hwah, said chicken prices plunged in March after the deadly H5N1 virus was detected in three Malaysian states.

The farm price of chickens fell to as low as RM1.80 per kg from the ceiling price of RM4 before the outbreaks, while chicken sales also dropped between 20 to 30 percent from that month, said Yap.

"Chicken farmers incurred huge losses and some did not even have money to buy feed or rear new chicks," Yap was quoted as saying in the Star daily.

Series of outbreaks

Malaysia reported a series of bird flu outbreaks beginning in February when it appeared in free-range chickens in villages near the capital Kuala Lumpur, triggering the slaughter of thousands of chickens.

But the federation said chicken prices were now staging a recovery, with farm prices set during the week at RM3.50 per kg as demand picks up.