EGYPT - Egyptian poultry production has recovered to 1.7 million birds a day after hitting a low of 500,000 a day during the peak of a bird flu epidemic earlier this year, the cabinet said.

The production rate compares with 2 million birds a day before the deadly virus hit in February, it said in a report on the food situation in the country.

Pockets of bird flu have reappeared here and there over the past few weeks but a mass vaccination campaign and better control measures appear to have limited the damage.

The report, issued after a meeting of ministers with a role in food supply, said the rice harvest this year would be 6.7 million tonnes, 1 million more than domestic requirements. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation said the 2005 harvest was 6.2 million tonnes of paddy.

The ministerial meeting decided to extend the exemption of customs duty on frozen meat and fish, introduced after bird flu created a shortage of animal protein.