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Bird Flu Drives 50 Percent Cost Increase for Badminton Players

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Bird flu outbreaks have significantly reduced the global supply of feathers used in shuttlecocks, impacting badminton players worldwide.
  • The cost of high-quality shuttlecocks has more than doubled in a decade, making them unaffordable for many clubs and players.
  • While synthetic alternatives exist, they are not yet considered suitable for competitive play, leaving players reliant on increasingly expensive feather shuttlecocks.

The global spread of bird flu, particularly the H5N1 strain, has had an unexpected and significant impact on badminton players, driving up equipment costs by as much as 50 percent. While the disease has only recently appeared on Australian shores, its effects on the supply chain for shuttlecocks have been felt for years, primarily due to the mass culling of geese and poultry in East and Central Asia.

A decade ago a tube of a dozen AS-30s would sit from $30 to $35. That's now well over $70.

— Tjitte WeistraBadminton Australia chief executive explaining the dramatic increase in shuttlecock prices.

Shuttlecocks require 16 feathers from the left wing of ducks or geese, with each bird yielding only two to three usable feathers. China, a major source of these specific feathers, has seen its poultry farms heavily affected by bird flu outbreaks. This has led to drastic price fluctuations for goose feathers, which are now at a premium as healthy flocks become rarer.

Badminton Australia chief executive Tjitte Weistra noted that a tube of a dozen mid-range shuttlecocks, like the Yonex AS-30, has jumped from $30-$35 a decade ago to over $70. This surge makes hosting tournaments and even regular club play prohibitively expensive. Weistra also mentioned that current synthetic shuttlecock alternatives are not yet adequate for serious players.

Feathers are what the game should be played with and are far superior.

— Michelle WatsonGreat Southern Badminton Association chair emphasizing the importance of feather shuttlecocks.

Michelle Watson, chair of the Great Southern Badminton Association, stated her organization spends $3,000 on shuttles every four to six months, necessitating nightly fee increases. She emphasized the superiority of feather shuttlecocks for the game's integrity, though she acknowledges synthetics might be the future due to sustainability concerns. Ryan Zengyuan of Metamorph Shuttle highlighted that Australia's reliance on imported equipment exacerbates the issue, with agricultural supply disruptions in Asia instantly causing shortages and price hikes for local players and retailers, who have passed on 30-50 percent increases.

An agricultural supply crash in Asia instantly triggers inventory shortages and doubles prices for local players.

— Ryan ZengyuanMetamorph Shuttle director explaining the impact of Asian supply issues on Australian players.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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