Hungary's foie gras industry down with flu as millions of birds die

Geese are pictured during the first Hungarian foie gras festival in Oroshaza, 200 km (125 miles) southeast of Budapest, June 6, 2009. Hungary accounts for roughly 80 percent of the world's goose foie gras production. Picture taken on June 6, 2009. REUTERS/Karoly Arvai

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - The price of foie gras in Hungary, one of the world's leading producers of the delicacy, has surged since an outbreak of bird flu forced farmers to cull more than 3 million fowl, mostly geese and ducks.

A kilo of goose foie gras cost about 13,000 forints ($45) in Budapest's Lehel market hall on Wednesday morning, almost double of what it was before the bird flu crisis.