LONDON (Reuters) – Sales of poultry in the Middle East rose in recent weeks as consumer fears over bird flu ebb, aiding the recovery of the industry, a major sector in several regional economies, officials and traders said.

The recovery was stronger in countries that had less exposure to the H5N1 virus, which remains mainly confined to birds, but experts fear it could mutate to a form that is transmitted between people, potentially killing millions.

Consumers in Egypt began avoiding poultry even before the virus was detected in the Arab world's most populous nation in February. The virus has so far killed six people and is confirmed to have infected 13.

Other countries in the region have had much lower rates of human infection.

Egyptian poultry traders and officials say demand is returning, breathing life back into an industry relied upon by up to 3 million people and worth 18 billion Egyptian pounds ($3.13 billion) in assets.

'Consumption fell before bird flu came to Egypt but now consumption is returning. There is a gradual increase but it's not yet back to the pre-bird flu level,' Ahmed Tawfiq, head of Egypt's veterinary services department told Reuters.

'There was panic before. Now people know what is dangerous and what is not and they aren't scared of eating chicken anymore,' he added.

Chicken makes up about half of the animal protein consumed in Egypt, compared to about 26 percent globally.

'Prices fell 60 percent but are now increasing rapidly,' said Mohamed El Shafei, vice chairman of the Egyptian Poultry Association.

Poultry consumption also fell in Iran, Jordan and the Palestinian Territories.

A member of the Iranian Union of Chicken Meat Farmers of Tehran said officials started to quarantine poultry when bird flu was detected in neighboring countries.

'The consumption of chicken fell between 30 to 80 percent in various provinces. The price of chicken slipped by between 30 to 50 percent depending on the location,' the farm association member said.

Iran has no poultry imports or exports.

Azzam Tbaileh, a senior official with the Palestinian agricultural ministry, said Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are consuming poultry as usual once again. He did not give further details.

A Jordanian official said the country's poultry industry was nearly back to full strength.

'Chicken consumption has recouped its losses by almost 90 percent,' said Ahmad Manna from Jordan's Poultry Farm Association, which represents over 2,500 chicken farms.

The industry estimates total Jordanian poultry production in 2006 to fall to 65 million birds from 100 million last year.

Demand in Sudan dipped temporarily as the population generally shrugged off the latest predicament to face their country, which is already suffering a cholera outbreak, a meningitis epidemic and multiple civil wars.