The Poultry Association on Monday raised the wholesale price of domestically produced eggs by NT$2 to N$52 per 600g, the Council of Agriculture said.
An uptick in avian flu infections and large temperature swings last year have had an impact on egg production, with daily output currently down to 114,000 cartons (200 eggs per carton), Minister of Agriculture Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) said in a Facebook post on Monday.
Daily production at the end of December was 122,000 cartons per day, the council said on Tuesday last week.
Photo: CNA
The wholesale price hike was recently finalized by the association’s committee on the production and sales of eggs, Chen said, adding that the council respected the decision made by the committee whose members consist of egg farmers and merchants.
The price of eggs should be determined by the market, Department of Animal Industry Deputy Director Chiang Wen-chuan (江文全) said on Sunday.
Since the end of the Lunar New Year holiday, egg production has again decreased due to the drop in the number of egg-laying hens, while the cost of feed remains high, Chiang said, quoting poultry farmers.
The hens are currently undergoing a molting phase, which is estimated to last for about three weeks, he said, adding that egg supply should be able to return to what it was before the holiday break.
During molting, chickens generally stop laying eggs and recommence laying when their feathers have regrown.
Egg supply was previously affected by the cold weather and bird flu, and now farmers are faced with the molting period, egg distributors said on Monday.
Supermarket chains PX Mart and a.mart said they would not raise the price of eggs for the time being as stocks are plentiful, while French retailer Carrefour said it as discussing with suppliers to increase purchase volume.
Faced with rising feed costs and falling egg production, Chen said the government would continue to waive business taxes on imported raw materials, such as corn, to aid chicken farmers.
The objective for now is to ensure a stable supply of eggs to consumers, while the long-term goal is to comprehensively modernize local poultry farms to reduce the impact of bird flu and extreme weather, he said.
Effective today, the producer price of farm eggs would also be hiked by NT$2 to NT$42.5 per 600g, the council said.
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