February 28, 2023

 

Taiwan proposes three-point plan on eggs

 

Taiwan's Council of Agriculture (COA) has proposed to speed up the movement of eggs between sales channels, boost imports of eggs and chicks, and assist chicken farmers to improve their facilities, Taipei Times reported.

 

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs and the COA are working together to address the egg shortage in the country. The shortage has resulted in rising egg prices.

 

The COA said that the country's egg production has not recovered as anticipated because of significant temperature differences between day and night, a bird flu outbreak, and a large number of molting hens.

 

A survey conducted by the Poultry Association of the Republic of China showed that Taiwan has about 31 million egg-laying hens, but egg production has been reduced as a result of the cold weather and the bird flu outbreak.

 

The number of molting hens has increased since the Lunar New Year holiday, and as a result, chicken farms house many older hens that lay fewer eggs. This results in a daily egg production of about 112,000 crates, the COA said.

 

The COA also said it has assisted breeder chicken farms in importing more chicks, from about 230,000 to 260,000 last year. 300,000 more chicks will be imported this year to speed up the replacement of older hens.

 

Taiwan's total number of chicks available last year was about 22.63 million, up roughly 13.7% from the year before. The council said supply of chicks has remained consistent, but the supply of hens that lay eggs has not yet increased.

 

In order to address shortages at convenience stores, supermarkets, retailers, traditional markets, and restaurants, the COA said that it would coordinate egg shipments between wholesalers, egg processors, transporters, and dealers.

 

By the end of March 2023, it plans to import at least 5 million eggs for use in processed foods.

 

The COA announced that it would also begin an egg cold chain project to offer financial aid to egg processors and transporters so they can add refrigerators or buy refrigerated vehicles to improve their ability to ship eggs.

 

To reduce the effects of extreme temperature swings and stop the spread of bird flu, the COA will assist chicken farmers to upgrade poultry houses, such as by switching open-air chicken coops for enclosed ones or those with wet-pad cooling systems.

 

The council said that it would continue to import breeder hens and would increase imports of breeder chicks if necessary, adding that they would provide incentives for breeding young hens to hasten the replacement of old egg-laying hens and to increase egg production capacity and egg quality.

 

-      Taipei Times