August 4, 2023

 

Thailand's Egg Board calls upon poultry farmers to release hens based on specified age

 

 

Thailand's Egg Board has requested local farmers, who raise caged laying hens, to release the birds based on a specified age in order to stabilise egg prices.

 

The aim is to strike a balance between production and consumption, ensuring that egg prices do not fall too low for farmers while still remaining affordable for consumers.

 

The Department of Livestock, through the secretary of the Egg Development and Product Policy Committee, has sent a letter requesting farmers to release caged laying hens at an appropriate age, following discussions with representatives from egg producers, cooperatives and poultry breeding companies.

 

The guidelines established to maintain egg prices include:

 

    - Large-scale operators with a flock size of over 100,000 hens should release caged laying hens when they reach an age not exceeding 78 weeks until the end of August 2023. After that, hens should be released at an age not exceeding 80 weeks;

 

    - Farmers with a flock size of under 100,000 hens should release caged laying hens at an age not exceeding 80 weeks.

 

Excluded from this arrangement are small-scale egg farmers with less than 30,000 hens, who are not part of Thailand's contract farming system with large-scale operators.

 

Also excluded as well are egg farms using alternative rearing systems such as free-range, organic livestock, cage-free, or those raising hens for non-commercial purposes like state farms, educational institutions, or research facilities.

 

The latest action aims to align with Thailand's egg production plan to mitigate price fluctuations. Since June 2023, domestic egg prices have increased, resulting in a decline in fresh egg exports.

 

Hong Kong, China, and Singapore are the main importers.

 

- Thai News Agency