Tian Yongyun, a feather middleman who has been collecting natural duck feathers for decades in Jiangxi and Fujian provinces, where H7N9 cases have also been reported, said farmers' supply of duck feathers has decreased 67 percent.

"Last April, I could buy 10,000 to 15,000 kg of duck feathers," he said. "Now it's down to 3,000 to 3,500 kg.

"And I used to pay about 0.12 yuan for every suitable duck feather. Now it's as much as 0.18 yuan."

Although synthetic shuttlecocks are widely used abroad, most Chinese badminton players prefer products with natural feathers.

Jin Xinchang, vice-chairman of the Badminton Association in Wuwei county, a shuttlecock manufacturing hub in Anhui, said that about 90 million people play badminton in China, and use about 1.92 billion feather shuttlecocks a year.

"Usually, most shuttlecock producers would keep a two-month storage of feathers," Jin said. "But if H7N9 continues and governments' restrictions on trade in the live poultry market do not end, not only the price will shoot up, the shuttlecock industry itself will be in peril."

Questions:

1. How many shuttlecocks come with each pack?

2. Who is the manager of the Bo’er Shuttlecock Factory?

3. According to Jin Xinchang, vice-chairman of the Badminton Association in Wuwei county, how many people in China play badminton?

Answers:

1. 12.

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