Egg farmers admit shortage and blame bird flu

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A group of egg farmers said there is now a shortage of eggs in the country as at least seven million chickens have been culled following the bird flu outbreak in central Luzon.

In a video interview with The Manila Times, Batangas Egg Producers Association (BEPA) President Dr. Jesus Medina added that egg prices and production have been affected by the flu outbreak. avian.

“There is (a shortage of eggs) because of bird flu. Egg production has dropped so much in the whole of the Philippines,” Medina said.

Medina added that although an outbreak of bird flu was reported in Batangas on December 9, 2022, it was contained.

“Here in Batangas, there is no bird flu problem. There was an outbreak in an eco-farm involving ducks, but it was already contained,” Medina said.

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Medina added that consumers should not blame egg farmers for the spike in egg prices, saying the farm gate price of eggs in the province only fluctuated between 6.90 and 7 pesos per piece.

“I have already called on our members not to increase the price of eggs on the farm. If they are already winning, that is enough not to affect consumers. We know that eggs are part of every household’s breakfast,” Medina noted.

Medina added that traders should also limit retail egg prices.

“If the producer price we have is around 6.90 to 7.00 pesos (per piece), 9 pesos (per piece) is too high. Producers don’t earn that much, but they sell at higher prices,” he said. .

At the same time, Medina appealed to the government to help deal with rising feed prices.

“From the government side, we hope this will help us with regard to the price of inputs, because the price of animal feed is the cause of the increase in production costs,” Medina added.

For his part, Philippine Egg Board Chairman Gregorio San Diego said many producers had shut down operations even before the outbreak of avian flu.

“Before the bird flu in 2021, many broiler producers switched to layer chickens because during this period they felt they had no competitors as eggs cannot be imported. The DA (Department of Agriculture) failed to regulate the number of people who ventured into the egg industry,” San Diego added.

San Diego said in the fourth quarter of 2021, many egg farmers suffered losses due to high feed costs and low egg prices.

“Many small and medium egg producers have stopped their activities while large companies have decided to reduce their production and volume. Last year,

Adenovirus affected us, then later bird flu, millions of chickens were culled in central Luzon,” San Diego added.

According to San Diego, many egg producers who have gone out of business have doubts about resuming operations amid the uncertainties brought by the avian flu outbreak.

“The laying hen industry was hit hard, bird flu started with ducks, and it spread to laying hens. Those who [are] the depopulated no longer want to invest because they fear that their chickens will be affected. At present, people involved in egg production have really declined because it takes a lot of capital to start this business,” he noted.

San Diego also backed Medina’s complaint about high feed costs.

“Before, our feed for layers was around 20 pesos per kilo, but now it’s 34 pesos. We spend at least 5 pesos a day for a chicken layer. This does not include electricity costs and labor,” he added.

According to San Diego, even prices for yellow corn, which is a major ingredient for animal feed, have risen from 14 pesos per kilo to 25 pesos per kilo.

Based on DA monitoring, the retail price of eggs in wet markets in Metro Manila is P8 or P9 per piece.

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