September 6, 2012

 

 

After a bird flu outbreak forced farmers to cull some 11 million hens, a drastic shortage has sparked a desperate egg hunt in Mexico.

 

Mexico City residents are waiting in long lines to buy subsidised eggs, while in the north some are crossing the border to get cheaper cartons in US supermarkets.

 

As part of emergency measures, the government has lifted egg tariffs, importing 906 tonnes from the US since the crisis erupted last month. More may come from Costa Rica, Colombia and Chile.

 

Some Mexican stores are even rationing sales, barring people from buying more than two cartons of eggs per person. In many places, the price of a kilogramme of eggs has doubled from MXN20 (US$1.50) to MXN40 (US$3), or even tripled.

 

The average Mexican eats 22.4 kilogrammes of eggs per year, according to the National Poultry Farmer Union. Given that a one-kilogramme carton contains 16-18 eggs, this means each Mexican gobbles up 350-400 "huevos" per year.

 

"It is an essential food," Bertha Padilla Ramirez, a 53-year-old grandmother, told AFP after she bought a 30-egg carton at a mobile egg distribution drive in a poor neighbourhood of the capital.

 

"We eat eggs because meat is too expensive."

 

Eggs are a cheap source of protein in Mexico, where almost half of the population of 112 million lives under the poverty line.

 

Here they are served with other staples, like beans and rice, or mixed in "salsa verde" (green sauce).

 

Prices jumped last month after a bird flu outbreak forced farmers to cull 11 million hens in the western state of Jalisco in June. The government has vowed to punish price gougers.

 

"It is a psychological crisis for a homemaker because we can't feed our children," Padilla Ramirez said, as she and dozens of other people stood in line to get their two-kilogramme carton of eggs.

 

Authorities are now allowing residents of border states to pass through customs with eggs they buy in US stores.

 

While the price of 30 eggs has jumped to MXN60 (US$4.6) in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, residents say they can buy a dozen Grade-A large eggs for MXN19 (US$1.38) in Texas. Some doubt that liberalising imports will lower prices, since bringing eggs from abroad is expensive.

 

"While it may help a little, it will never lower prices and it will not be a better product than what we produce in Mexico," said Homero Villarreal Cerda, adviser of the Nuevo Laredo Chamber of Commerce.

 

The federal consumer protection agency meanwhile is urging people to look for other affordable sources of protein, such as tuna, under a programme called "You Choose to Eat Well."

 

Economy Minister Bruno Ferrari also sees it as a way to combat egg price "speculators."

 

"I recommend that during this lack of stability, the consumer takes his responsibilities and does not allow this type of abuse. Change your diet, look for other types of protein," he said.