October 25, 2012

Mexico intends to boost egg production after bird flu outbreak

As the country recovers from a bird flu outbreak that slashed the state's output and caused domestic egg prices to increase sharply, Mexico plans to increase egg production in areas other than the top producing state of Jalisco.

President Felipe Calderon said Wednesday (Oct.24), "The idea is to regionally diversify egg production in the country, precisely in order to give greater opportunities for growth and well-being to many, many families." He added that the government aims to push for the establishment of new centres for egg-laying hens outside of Jalisco, which produces half of the country's eggs.

Eggs are typically an affordable staple for the poor, and the steep price increase caused by the spread of the H7N3 virus contributed to the recent rise in Mexico's overall inflation rate. Mexico is the largest per-capita egg consumer world-wide.

Egg prices have begun to stabilise over the past two months, Calderon said. During the last week of August, wholesale eggs in the nation's capital sold for an average price of MXN34 (US$2.6) per kilogramme, according to the Economy Ministry's market information system. Today, they are down to MXN26 (US$2) per kilogramme.

Jaime Crivelli, president of the National Union of Poultry Producers, said losses amounted to MXN9.5 billion (US$730.8 million), more than a previous estimate.

Calderon said the outbreak is now completely under control. Jalisco's flock is expected to return to its normal size next month, with productivity returning to pre-June levels shortly afterward.

More than 22 million egg-laying hens were lost as a result of the outbreak. About 140 million vaccinations were administered to surviving hens, and 14,000 tonnes of eggs were imported, mostly from the US.