Egg producers send out SOS
With a looming meat crisis, there’s no doubt in the minds of some farmers on which should come first: the chicken or the egg.
The Agricultural Sector Alliance of the
“We’re afraid that the industry will be wiped out if the egg producers will no longer earn,” Rufina Salas, ASAP secretary general, told The STAR in an interview on the sidelines of the “Egg Summit” organized by her group.
Salas said that, unlike a decade ago, there are no more backyard poultry farms engaged in broiler production, and that only big groups like San Miguel Corp. are engaged in broiler production.
Most of the backyard farmers are engaged in egg production, she said.
With the almost 15 percent yearly increase in the cost of feeds, Salas said backyard farmers engaged in egg production are beginning to get “discouraged” from doing business.
“If the industry won’t be able to sustain the input cost, it won’t survive. The industry has to survive,” Salas said.
Salas also said the situation has pushed the price of eggs from P2.75 per piece in the past to at least P3.75 at present, and even up to P6 for the extra large eggs. She said many consumers might find the price too prohibitive.
Earlier, the Department of Trade and Industry revealed the likelihood of sharp increases in poultry and meat prices because of the soaring costs of animal feeds, which comprise 70 percent of the cost of production. Salas said the increase in the price of eggs has created a surplus.
“There has been a slowdown in the market (for egg),” she noted.
Salas’ group is urging the government to provide regular funding for the poultry industry, saying most of government subsidy is going to rice production.
Salas said that at present, investments in the poultry and livestock industry have mostly come from the private sector.
She also urged the creation of egg processing plants in the country designed to preserve the shelf-life of eggs during a surplus. But she said setting up such plant would require at least P65 million.
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