July 16, 2010
Thailand allows more chicken imports due to egg shortage
The government of Thailand is now allowing more import of layer chickens due to a shortage in eggs and to stop the skyrocketing prices.
On July 13, the cabinet opened the door to more imports but insisted importers had to seek permission from the Livestock Development Department. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said additional measures will be adopted to stop rising egg prices. They would include allowing more competition in the industry.
There are only nine major private firms allowed to import layer hens and roosters. They have a limit of 400,000 hens a year. On average, only 360,000 are imported and this had caused the egg shortage, the cabinet was told.
The government has asked companies to extend their parent stocks. New imported fowl stocks take about 10 months to produce eggs. The cabinet also authorised a revamp of the Egg Board as it was unable to deal with the issues of supply and price stability. It has failed to manage imports properly for the past two years.
Norasing Trakulchang, a representative of 133 small and medium layer hen farms in the Central region, said more imports will cut egg production costs from THB2.80 (US$0.087) to THB1.95 (US$0.06).
