Increase.Egg prices rise for bird flu products
The price of eggs has changed due to the inconvenience of slaughtering poultry due to bird flu.
LA HORA LOJA interviewed Marisol Molina, executive director of the National Egg Producers Union, who said that since October 2022, Ecuador joins list of countries affected by bird flu first.
“From October to February 2023, 1.2 million birds have died or been culled. There was a sit-in in January to demand vaccination, we have to take into account that this vaccine is not in the country and must be authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture from Agrocalidad delivered to the country,” he stressed.
He added that the situation requires the help of experts at national and international levels to resolve the issue.On the other hand, it also shows that there is a shortage of eggs, because 1 million 300,000 production birds sold Because of the fear of being infected by this disease.
“We also calculated that 1 million chickens would not be part of the new production. In March, the first batch of vaccinations started, and a total of 5 million people were not vaccinated, which means a 30% reduction in production,” he noted.
He explained, “It takes 20 weeks for a one-day-old chick to start laying eggs, in other words, the process takes five to six months. .”
Likewise, he emphasized that before the disease outbreak, poultry farms in Tungurahua, Chimborazo and Cotopaxi delivered 15 million eggs are shipped to the country every dayNow due to this issue, only 11 million have been delivered.
complaint
Molina explained that this reduction in production resulted in a price change in the value of each barrel of eggs. “Due to high demand for the product, the price of barrels has no stable value and is currently determined by the market,” he said.
He mentioned that a few days ago there were reports of high prices in certain parts of the country. “We’re working with price controls and regulators to make sure there’s no speculation in this product, we understand the state of the country’s economy and we can’t allow them to charge a lot for egg buckets,” he said.
There have been reports of another outbreak of the disease since one of Yambo’s poultry had to be culled a few weeks ago. 45,000 birds. “We are concerned because this will make it difficult for us to meet the demand for eggs. Agrocalidad continues to carry out regular inspections”.
price
Poultry prices are $3.90 and $4.00. Counting the transportation of each barrel, there is a profit of 20 cents. In Loja, several distilleries said they received a bucket of eggs for $4.10 to $4.30, compared with $4.60 to $4.70 for sale. “We cannot raise prices because we are competing with other businesses buying more buckets of eggs from suppliers,” said a trader, who did not want to be named for security reasons.
No official statement has been issued by the Loja authorities on the situation by the end of this note.