Prices of eggs continue to go up

MANILA, Philippines — Retail prices of eggs are expected to continue going up until December amid the increase in demand during the holiday season and supply issues, according to the Philippine Egg Board Association.

PEBA president Francis Uyehara said the farmgate price of medium-sized eggs now ranges between P7 and P7.50 per piece.

“Based on our projection, the retail of medium-sized eggs is between P8.50 and P9,” he said over radio dzBB.

Uyehara added that there is also an issue on the supply of eggs, since many farmers decided to decrease their production during the summer season, which was aggravated by the El Niño phenomenon.

“Obviously, at present, there is a shortage that resulted in the increase in the price. We are trying to recover so that the retail price of eggs will not increase that much toward December,” Uyehara said.

It takes at least six months for farmers to raise chicken layers and start to produce eggs.

“Our repopulation is continuous, which started in June. We expect additional birds to help increase production toward December,” he noted.

According to Uyehara, the increase in the demand for eggs started during the opening of school in June and is expected to continue.

“The highest demand for eggs is in December, but actually this year, we felt the increase in the demand when the school year opened,” he noted.

Based on the monitoring of the Department of Agriculture in Metro Manila markets, the retail price of medium-sized eggs ranged between P7.50 and P9 per piece compared to between P7 and P8.60 per piece a month ago.