January 13, 2023

Egg production low in the Philippines but supplies remain stable

The Philippines' United Broiler Raisers Association (Ubra) said egg supplies in the country remain stable, despite reduced production since the fourth quarter of 2022, as many farmers have incurred losses, Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

Gregorio San Diego, chairman of Ubra, said that since many consumers were reducing their food expenditures in favour of more important things like paying bills, they anticipated that demand for eggs would eventually decline.

San Diego saidthe drop in egg demand might result in lower prices or have no impact at all.

The Philippines' Department of Agriculture's monitoring report showed medium-sized eggs sell for PHP 7 (~US$0.13; PHP 1 = US$0.018) to PHP 9 (~US$0.16) each from the previous PHP 5 (~US$0.091) to PHP 6.50 (~US$0.12) per egg in Metro Manila.

San Diego said feed inputs for egg laying hens account for PHP 5 (~US$0.091) of an egg's selling price.

In addition to having higher production costs, the global bird flu outbreak has a significant impact on local producers, he said.

San Diego said the price of eggs has significantly increased in the US and New Zealand, adding that worldwide bird flu outbreaks have an impact on almost all nations.

In order to closely monitor the prices of poultry and livestock products like meat and eggs across the country, the Department of Agriculture reconvened the Price and Volume Watch Committee and Advisory Groups for Livestock and Poultry.

-      Philippine Daily Inquirer